Macy's (NYSE:M) Lowered to "Hold" Rating by StockNews.com

Macy's (NYSE:M - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Macy's in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Argus upgraded Macy's to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Macy's from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Gordon Haskett upgraded Macy's from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $20.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Macy's from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $18.56.

Macy's Trading Up 7.6 %

Shares of M traded up $1.28 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $18.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 10,634,983 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,426,349. Macy's has a 52 week low of $14.06 and a 52 week high of $22.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company's fifty day moving average price is $15.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.36. The stock has a market cap of $5.03 billion, a PE ratio of 30.68 and a beta of 2.11.

Macy's (NYSE:M - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, December 11th. The company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $4.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.21 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Macy's will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Macy's

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Macy's by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,661,876 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,765,000 after buying an additional 118,626 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Macy's by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,691,591 shares of the company's stock valued at $73,611,000 after purchasing an additional 195,880 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Macy's during the 3rd quarter worth $594,000. Alerus Financial NA purchased a new stake in shares of Macy's during the 3rd quarter worth $2,144,000. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its stake in shares of Macy's by 57.9% during the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 782,391 shares of the company's stock worth $12,276,000 after purchasing an additional 286,879 shares in the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.