Benchmark Upgrades Macy's (NYSE:M) to "Strong-Buy"

Benchmark upgraded shares of Macy's (NYSE:M - Free Report) to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Macy's from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Telsey Advisory Group restated a "market perform" rating and set a $17.00 price objective on shares of Macy's in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Macy's from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $20.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Argus upgraded shares of Macy's to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on Macy's from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Macy's currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $17.75.

Macy's Trading Down 2.3 %

M stock traded down $0.34 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $14.27. The stock had a trading volume of 5,850,234 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,910,509. 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 firm has a market cap of $3.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.18 and a beta of 2.05. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $15.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.72. Macy's has a 1-year low of $13.66 and a 1-year high of $22.10.

Macy's (NYSE:M - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 11th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.07 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.74 billion. Macy's had a net margin of 0.73% and a return on equity of 21.99%. Macy's's quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.21 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Macy's will post 2.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Macy's by 2.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,023,790 shares of the company's stock valued at $79,110,000 after buying an additional 128,258 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Macy's by 4.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,691,591 shares of the company's stock worth $73,611,000 after purchasing an additional 195,880 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its stake in Macy's by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 3,512,142 shares of the company's stock worth $59,461,000 after acquiring an additional 411,412 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Macy's by 14.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,314,572 shares of the company's stock worth $56,116,000 after purchasing an additional 419,261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Macy's by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,776,462 shares of the company's stock worth $47,006,000 after buying an additional 114,586 shares during 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.