Macy’s (NYSE:M) Now Covered by Analysts at StockNews.com

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

Several other brokerages have also commented on M. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Macy’s from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Macy’s from $16.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Citigroup upgraded Macy’s from a sell rating to a neutral rating and raised their price target for the stock from $14.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. TD Cowen downgraded Macy’s from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and cut their price objective for the company from $23.00 to $20.00 in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated a market perform rating and set a $21.00 target price on shares of Macy’s in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $17.45.

Macy’s Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of Macy’s stock opened at $19.52 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $19.57 and a 200 day moving average of $17.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.74 and a beta of 2.16. Macy’s has a fifty-two week low of $10.54 and a fifty-two week high of $22.10.

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

Macy’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.1737 per share. This represents a $0.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.56%. This is a positive change from Macy’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Macy’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 186.49%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Paul Griscom sold 2,969 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.43, for a total transaction of $60,656.67. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 21,436 shares in the company, valued at $437,937.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Macy’s news, SVP Paul Griscom sold 2,969 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.43, for a total value of $60,656.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 21,436 shares in the company, valued at $437,937.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jeffrey Gennette sold 78,567 shares of Macy’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.42, for a total value of $1,604,338.14. Following the sale, the director now owns 994,301 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,303,626.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 218,424 shares of company stock worth $4,405,507. 1.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Macy’s

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of M. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Macy’s by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 43,046 shares of the company’s stock worth $866,000 after buying an additional 554 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Macy’s by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 17,847 shares of the company’s stock valued at $359,000 after purchasing an additional 603 shares during the last quarter. Glassman Wealth Services increased its holdings in shares of Macy’s by 154.5% in the fourth quarter. Glassman Wealth Services now owns 1,224 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 743 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Macy’s by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $139,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Macy’s by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 140,135 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,820,000 after purchasing an additional 841 shares during the period. 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.