Macy’s (NYSE:M) Shares Up 5.8% – Should You Buy?

Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M)’s share price traded up 5.8% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $16.00 and last traded at $15.95. 2,251,720 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 64% from the average session volume of 6,237,186 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.07.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on M shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Macy’s from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. StockNews.com started coverage on Macy’s in a research report on Sunday, November 10th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $21.00 target price on shares of Macy’s in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Macy’s to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.43.

Macy’s Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 0.34. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.47 and a beta of 2.11.

Macy’s (NYSE:M) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 21st. The company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $4.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.06 billion. Macy’s had a net margin of 0.80% and a return on equity of 23.14%. Macy’s’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.26 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Macy’s, Inc. will post 2.7 EPS for the current year.

Macy’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.1737 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.26%. Macy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 107.81%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Macy’s

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of M. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Macy’s by 9.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 15,489,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $297,385,000 after acquiring an additional 1,379,476 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management increased its holdings in Macy’s by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 5,374,167 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,184,000 after purchasing an additional 68,300 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Macy’s by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,023,790 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,110,000 after purchasing an additional 128,258 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Macy’s by 18.9% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,704,854 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,333,000 after purchasing an additional 747,542 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Macy’s by 4.4% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.