Macy's, Inc. (NYSE:M) Short Interest Up 9.9% in August

Macy's, Inc. (NYSE:M - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 13,240,000 shares, a growth of 9.9% from the July 31st total of 12,050,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 6,050,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days. Currently, 4.8% of the company's stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on M shares. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Macy's from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Macy's from $22.00 to $17.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Macy's from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. StockNews.com started coverage on Macy's in a research note on Friday. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Macy's from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Macy's has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $19.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Antony Spring sold 18,981 shares of Macy's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.96, for a total value of $359,879.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 267,265 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,067,344.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Antony Spring sold 18,981 shares of Macy's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.96, for a total value of $359,879.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 267,265 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,067,344.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Danielle L. Kirgan sold 24,147 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.96, for a total value of $457,827.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 348,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,598,080. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 43,464 shares of company stock worth $824,081. 2.77% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Macy's

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in M. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Macy's in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Macy's during the first quarter worth about $42,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in Macy's during the first quarter worth about $50,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in Macy's during the first quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in Macy's by 333.3% during the first quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,600 shares of the company's stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Macy's Price Performance

M stock remained flat at $15.57 on Friday. The company had a trading volume of 5,960,924 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,370,599. The company has a fifty day moving average of $17.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.58. Macy's has a 52-week low of $10.54 and a 52-week high of $22.10. The company has a market cap of $4.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 519.00 and a beta of 2.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 1.48.

Macy's (NYSE:M - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The company reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $4.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. Macy's had a return on equity of 23.14% and a net margin of 0.80%. Macy's's quarterly revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.26 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Macy's will post 2.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Macy's Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $0.1737 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $0.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.46%. Macy's's dividend payout ratio is currently 2,300.00%.

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.