StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Macy’s (NYSE:M)

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Macy’s (NYSE:M) in a report issued on Tuesday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on M. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Macy’s from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and lowered their target price for the company from $23.00 to $20.00 in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Citigroup raised Macy’s from a sell rating to a neutral rating and increased their target price for the stock from $14.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Macy’s from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Macy’s from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued a market perform rating and issued a $21.00 target price on shares of Macy’s in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $17.45.

Macy’s Stock Up 0.2 %

M opened at $19.05 on Tuesday. Macy’s has a 52 week low of $10.54 and a 52 week high of $22.10. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $19.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a market cap of $5.24 billion, a PE ratio of 51.47 and a beta of 2.15.

Macy’s (NYSE:M) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $2.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.47. Macy’s had a return on equity of 23.34% and a net margin of 0.45%. The business had revenue of $8.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.88 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Macy’s will post 2.57 EPS for the current year.

Macy’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.1737 dividend. This represents a $0.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.65%. This is a boost from Macy’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Macy’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 186.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Antony Spring sold 14,859 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.63, for a total value of $291,682.17. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 248,897 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,885,848.11. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Macy’s news, CFO Adrian V. Mitchell sold 13,279 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.63, for a total transaction of $260,666.77. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 120,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,364,570.91. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Antony Spring sold 14,859 shares of Macy’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.63, for a total transaction of $291,682.17. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 248,897 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,885,848.11. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 218,424 shares of company stock worth $4,405,507. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Macy’s

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of M. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its stake in Macy’s by 2.4% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 67,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,345,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Macy’s by 1,695.3% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 159,747 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,193,000 after acquiring an additional 150,849 shares during the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in shares of Macy’s during the 1st quarter worth about $50,000. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Macy’s by 1,122.9% in the first quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 17,695 shares of the company’s stock worth $354,000 after acquiring an additional 16,248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in Macy’s in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

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.