The Goldman Sachs Group Has Lowered Expectations for Macy’s (NYSE:M) Stock Price

Macy’s (NYSE:M) had its target price trimmed by The Goldman Sachs Group from $19.00 to $17.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on M. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Macy’s from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $19.00 to $14.00 in a report on Thursday. UBS Group reduced their price target on Macy’s from $9.00 to $8.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Friday. StockNews.com raised Macy’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Benchmark raised Macy’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of Macy’s in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $16.00.

Macy’s Stock Performance

NYSE M opened at $14.10 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.89 and a beta of 2.05. Macy’s has a twelve month low of $12.60 and a twelve month high of $22.10. 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 of $15.10 and a 200 day moving average of $15.50.

Macy’s (NYSE:M) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $7.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.76 billion. Macy’s had a return on equity of 21.99% and a net margin of 0.73%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Macy’s will post 2.39 EPS 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.1824 dividend. This represents a $0.73 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.18%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Macy’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Macy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 116.95%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Macy’s

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Macy’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Macy’s in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Macy’s by 282.7% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,685 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of Macy’s by 82.1% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,149 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 969 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Macy’s in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

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.