Macy’s (NYSE:M) Shares Down 2.1% – What’s Next?

Shares of Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M) fell 2.1% on Friday . The company traded as low as $13.19 and last traded at $13.18. 1,191,140 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 7,070,607 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.46.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Macy’s from $19.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Macy’s from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $14.00 target price on Macy’s in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com raised shares of Macy’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Macy’s in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $15.56.

Macy’s Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $3.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.33 and a beta of 2.07. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $14.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

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

Macy’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.1824 per share. This represents a $0.73 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Macy’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Macy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.44%.

Institutional Trading of Macy’s

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Macy’s during the fourth quarter worth about $96,689,000. Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Macy’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,775,000. FMR LLC increased its stake in Macy’s by 59.9% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,503,742 shares of the company’s stock worth $127,038,000 after buying an additional 2,812,151 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Macy’s by 1,230.8% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,387,193 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,415,000 after buying an additional 2,207,809 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC boosted its holdings in Macy’s by 26.2% in the fourth quarter. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC now owns 7,838,240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $132,701,000 after purchasing an additional 1,627,572 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

About Macy’s

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.