Macy's (NYSE:M) Raised to Buy at Gordon Haskett

Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Macy's (NYSE:M - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $20.00 target price on the stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Macy's in a report on Thursday. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $17.00 price target on shares of Macy's in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Argus upgraded Macy's to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Macy's from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Macy's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. One equities research 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $18.56.

Macy's Stock Performance

NYSE:M traded up $0.16 during trading on Monday, reaching $16.72. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,401,362 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,411,421. Macy's has a 12 month low of $14.06 and a 12 month high of $22.10. The firm has a market cap of $4.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.37 and a beta of 2.10. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $15.79 and a 200-day moving average of $16.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Macy's (NYSE:M - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, December 11th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share 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 company 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 firm earned $0.21 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Macy's will post 2.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Macy's Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.1737 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.16%. Macy's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 116.95%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Macy's

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Macy's by 589.6% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 33,240 shares of the company's stock valued at $645,000 after purchasing an additional 28,420 shares during the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Macy's by 1.7% during the second quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 44,321 shares of the company's stock valued at $851,000 after acquiring an additional 761 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Macy's by 1.2% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,185,513 shares of the company's stock valued at $61,162,000 after acquiring an additional 37,254 shares in the last quarter. Bailard Inc. lifted its stake in Macy's by 64.4% in the second quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 32,953 shares of the company's stock worth $633,000 after acquiring an additional 12,913 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Macy's by 33.5% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 213,218 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,094,000 after acquiring an additional 53,471 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.36% of the company's stock.

Macy's Company Profile

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.