Macy’s (NYSE:M) Hits New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $13.55 and last traded at $13.48, with a volume of 312840 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $14.01.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

M has been the subject of several recent research reports. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $17.00 price objective on shares of Macy’s in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Gordon Haskett lowered shares of Macy’s from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Benchmark upgraded shares of Macy’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Macy’s from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Macy’s from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Macy’s has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.14.

Macy’s Trading Down 5.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.17. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $15.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.69 billion, a PE ratio of 22.53 and a beta of 2.05.

Macy’s (NYSE:M) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, December 11th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by ($0.03). The business 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%. Macy’s’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.21 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Macy’s, Inc. will post 2.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Macy’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.1824 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Macy’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.73 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.49%. Macy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 116.95%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Macy’s

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in M. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in Macy’s during the 4th quarter valued at $2,591,000. Forum Financial Management LP bought a new stake in Macy’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $177,000. Vise Technologies Inc. lifted its stake in Macy’s by 37.2% in the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 23,129 shares of the company’s stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 6,266 shares in the last quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Macy’s by 14.5% in the 4th quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 135,646 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,296,000 after purchasing an additional 17,167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Macy’s by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,060,349 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,952,000 after purchasing an additional 122,749 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Macy’s Company Profile

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.