Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $15.30.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on M shares. Morgan Stanley set a $14.00 price objective on Macy’s in a report on Monday, March 10th. Telsey Advisory Group set a $15.00 price objective on Macy’s in a report on Friday, March 7th. Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Macy’s in a report on Friday, March 7th. Gordon Haskett cut Macy’s from an “accumulate” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Macy’s from $19.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Macy’s

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Macy’s by 22.8% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 28,731 shares of the company’s stock valued at $486,000 after purchasing an additional 5,332 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of Macy’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,591,000. Forum Financial Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Macy’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $177,000. Vise Technologies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Macy’s by 37.2% during the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 23,129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $392,000 after purchasing an additional 6,266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Macy’s by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 135,646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,296,000 after purchasing an additional 17,167 shares in the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Macy’s Stock Performance

Shares of M opened at $13.27 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $3.68 billion, a PE ratio of 22.48 and a beta of 2.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $14.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.32. Macy’s has a 12-month low of $12.60 and a 12-month high of $20.71.

Macy’s (NYSE:M) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $7.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.76 billion. Macy’s had a return on equity of 21.99% and a net margin of 0.73%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Macy’s will post 2.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Macy’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.1824 dividend. This is a boost from Macy’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Macy’s’s payout ratio is 35.44%.

Macy’s Company Profile

Macy’s, Inc engages in the retail of apparel, accessories, cosmetics, home furnishings, and other consumer goods. The firm’s brands include Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, and Bluemercury. It offers men’s, women’s, and children’s apparel, women’s accessories, intimate apparel, shoes, cosmetics, fragrances, as well as home and miscellaneous products.