Macy’s (NYSE:M) Stock Price Down 2.1% – Here’s Why

Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M) fell 2.1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $13.19 and last traded at $13.18. 1,191,140 shares were traded during 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 research firms recently issued reports on M. Gordon Haskett lowered Macy’s from an “accumulate” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Benchmark raised Macy’s to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded Macy’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Macy’s in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $14.00 price target on Macy’s in a research note on Monday, March 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Macy’s has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $15.56.

Macy’s Stock Down 4.1 %

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $14.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.39. The company has a market capitalization of $3.63 billion, a PE ratio of 22.18 and a beta of 2.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Macy’s (NYSE:M) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $7.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.76 billion. Macy’s had a net margin of 0.73% and a return on equity of 21.99%. As a group, analysts forecast that Macy’s, Inc. will post 2.39 EPS for the current year.

Macy’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.1824 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.58%. This is a positive change from Macy’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Macy’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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 business. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Macy’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,591,000. Forum Financial Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Macy’s during the fourth quarter worth about $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 worth $392,000 after buying an additional 6,266 shares during the period. 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 worth $2,296,000 after buying an additional 17,167 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Macy’s by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,060,349 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,952,000 after acquiring an additional 122,749 shares in the last quarter. 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.