Macy’s (NYSE:M) Trading Up 3.7% – Here’s Why

Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M)’s stock price rose 3.7% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $17.49 and last traded at $17.45. Approximately 1,146,467 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 6,388,158 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.82.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on M. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Macy’s in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Argus raised Macy’s to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Macy’s from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Gordon Haskett raised Macy’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Macy’s from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.56.

Macy’s Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $16.00 and a 200 day moving average of $16.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company has a market capitalization of $4.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.73 and a beta of 2.10.

Macy’s (NYSE:M) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, December 11th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.07 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.74 billion. Macy’s had a return on equity of 21.99% and a net margin of 0.73%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.21 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Macy’s, Inc. will post 2.38 EPS for the current year.

Macy’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.1737 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.96%. Macy’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 116.95%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Macy’s

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of M. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Macy’s by 4.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,661,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,765,000 after purchasing an additional 118,626 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Macy’s by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,691,591 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,611,000 after purchasing an additional 195,880 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Macy’s during the 3rd quarter valued at $594,000. Alerus Financial NA bought a new position in Macy’s in the 3rd quarter worth $2,144,000. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its stake in Macy’s by 57.9% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 782,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,276,000 after buying an additional 286,879 shares in the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Macy’s

Macy's, Inc, an omni-channel retail organization, operates stores, websites, and mobile applications in the United States. The company sells a range of merchandise, such as apparel and accessories for men, women, and kids; cosmetics; home furnishings; and other consumer goods under the Macy's, Bloomingdale's, and bluemercury brands.