Macy’s (NYSE:M) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Macy’s (NYSE:M) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Sunday morning.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on M. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Macy’s from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Macy’s from $16.50 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Macy’s from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Macy’s in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Macy’s from $14.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “cautious” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.50.

Macy’s Stock Down 3.0%

NYSE:M opened at $23.11 on Friday. Macy’s has a 1-year low of $9.76 and a 1-year high of $24.41. The company has a 50-day moving average of $20.30 and a 200 day moving average of $16.05. The firm has a market cap of $6.15 billion, a PE ratio of 13.68 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.18.

Macy’s (NYSE:M) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, December 3rd. The company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.22. Macy’s had a net margin of 2.10% and a return on equity of 15.57%. The business had revenue of $4.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.04 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. Macy’s has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.000-2.20 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Macy’s will post 2.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Macy’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a $0.1824 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $0.73 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. Macy’s’s dividend payout ratio is 43.20%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Macy’s news, EVP Danielle L. Kirgan sold 85,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.92, for a total transaction of $2,033,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 51,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,223,771.12. This trade represents a 62.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.77% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Macy’s

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Summit Securities Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Macy’s by 106.0% during the first quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 2,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 38,800 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new stake in Macy’s in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Macy’s by 523.0% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,171 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 2,662 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Macy’s by 41.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,023 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 592 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Macy’s by 101.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,311 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 1,162 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.