Macy’s (NYSE:M) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Macy’s (NYSE:M) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on M. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Macy’s in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. 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. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Macy’s from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Argus raised shares of Macy’s to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Macy’s from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $18.56.

Macy’s Price Performance

NYSE M opened at $17.54 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.73 and a beta of 2.10. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.35. Macy’s has a 52-week low of $14.06 and a 52-week high of $22.10.

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

Macy’s Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Macy’s by 1.2% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,185,513 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,162,000 after buying an additional 37,254 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Macy’s by 33.5% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 213,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,094,000 after buying an additional 53,471 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in shares of Macy’s by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 58,968 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,132,000 after acquiring an additional 2,227 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its position in Macy’s by 71.6% during the second quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 218,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,200,000 after acquiring an additional 91,257 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Macy’s during the second quarter valued at approximately $387,000. 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.