Macy’s (NYSE:M) Shares Up 3.7% – Here’s Why

Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M) traded up 3.7% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $17.49 and last traded at $17.45. 1,146,467 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 6,388,158 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.82.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group dropped their price target on Macy’s from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Macy’s in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Macy’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $17.00 price objective on shares of Macy’s in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised Macy’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.56.

Macy’s Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.87 billion, a PE ratio of 29.73 and a beta of 2.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $16.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.35.

Macy’s (NYSE:M) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 11th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.07 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.74 billion. Macy’s had a net margin of 0.73% and a return on equity of 21.99%. Macy’s’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.21 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Macy’s, Inc. will post 2.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Macy’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.1737 per share. This represents a $0.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Macy’s’s payout ratio is 116.95%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Macy’s

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Macy’s by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 15,489,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $297,385,000 after acquiring an additional 1,379,476 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management increased its stake in Macy’s by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 5,374,167 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,184,000 after buying an additional 68,300 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted 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 valued at $79,110,000 after buying an additional 128,258 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Macy’s by 18.9% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,704,854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,333,000 after buying an additional 747,542 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 195,880 shares in the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Macy’s Company Profile

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.