Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the thirteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have assigned a hold recommendation, one has given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $15.30.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on M shares. Citigroup lowered their price target on Macy’s from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com raised Macy’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Macy’s in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Telsey Advisory Group set a $15.00 target price on Macy’s in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $14.00 target price on Macy’s in a research report on Monday, March 10th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Macy’s

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in M. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Macy’s by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,661,876 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,765,000 after purchasing an additional 118,626 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Macy’s by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,691,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,611,000 after purchasing an additional 195,880 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Macy’s in the 3rd quarter worth about $594,000. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Macy’s by 724.1% in the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 103,584 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,754,000 after purchasing an additional 91,015 shares during the period. Finally, Alerus Financial NA bought a new position in Macy’s in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,144,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Macy’s Price Performance

Shares of M opened at $13.27 on Wednesday. Macy’s has a 12-month low of $12.60 and a 12-month high of $20.71. The business’s fifty day moving average is $14.46 and its 200 day moving average is $15.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market cap of $3.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.48 and a beta of 2.07.

Macy’s (NYSE:M) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $7.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.76 billion. Macy’s had a return on equity of 21.99% and a net margin of 0.73%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Macy’s will post 2.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Macy’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.1824 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.73 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.50%. This is a positive change from Macy’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Macy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.44%.

About Macy’s

Macy’s, Inc engages in the retail of apparel, accessories, cosmetics, home furnishings, and other consumer goods. The firm’s brands include Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, and Bluemercury. It offers men’s, women’s, and children’s apparel, women’s accessories, intimate apparel, shoes, cosmetics, fragrances, as well as home and miscellaneous products.