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

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Macy’s (NYSE:M) in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the stock.

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

Macy’s Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of M stock opened at $19.54 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.81 and a beta of 2.16. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.17. Macy’s has a 1 year low of $10.54 and a 1 year high of $22.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.39.

Macy’s (NYSE:M) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $2.45 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $8.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. Macy’s had a net margin of 0.45% and a return on equity of 23.34%. Macy’s’s revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.88 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Macy’s will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Macy’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.1737 per share. This represents a $0.69 annualized dividend 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 of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Macy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 186.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Paul Griscom sold 2,969 shares of Macy’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $437,937.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Paul Griscom sold 2,969 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.43, for a total transaction of $60,656.67. Following 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Antony Spring sold 3,075 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.28, for a total transaction of $62,361.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 228,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,639,050. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 218,424 shares of company stock worth $4,405,507 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Macy’s

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Macy’s by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 43,046 shares of the company’s stock valued at $866,000 after buying an additional 554 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its position in Macy’s by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 17,847 shares of the company’s stock valued at $359,000 after acquiring an additional 603 shares during the last quarter. Glassman Wealth Services increased its position in Macy’s by 154.5% during the fourth quarter. Glassman Wealth Services now owns 1,224 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 743 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Macy’s by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $139,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the period. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Macy’s by 0.6% in 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 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.