Macy’s (NYSE:M) Stock Sees Unusually High Put Option Buying

Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors bought 64,577 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 466% compared to the average volume of 11,400 put options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on M. UBS Group reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of Macy’s in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Macy’s in a research note on Monday, September 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Macy’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Macy’s in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Macy’s from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.78.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Macy’s

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of M. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Macy’s by 2.0% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 16,475,647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $298,035,000 after purchasing an additional 329,675 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Macy’s by 81.9% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,763,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,266,000 after purchasing an additional 2,594,549 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Macy’s during the second quarter valued at about $67,450,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Macy’s by 1,344.4% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,059,374 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,344,000 after purchasing an additional 2,847,561 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Macy’s by 40.7% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,881,348 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,034,000 after purchasing an additional 543,867 shares during the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Macy’s Stock Down 1.9%

M stock traded down $0.45 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $23.55. 6,527,663 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,493,024. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $22.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.19. The stock has a market cap of $6.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.63 and a beta of 1.44. Macy’s has a fifty-two week low of $16.69 and a fifty-two week high of $26.58.

Macy’s (NYSE:M) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 10th. The company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.26. Macy’s had a return on equity of 13.21% and a net margin of 3.29%. The firm had revenue of $5.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.41 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Macy’s has set its Q3 2026 guidance at -0.230–0.190 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 2.150-2.350 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Macy’s will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Macy’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th were given a $0.1915 dividend. This represents a $0.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. Macy’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.21%.

Macy’s Company Profile

Macy’s, Inc (NYSE:M) is an American omnichannel retailer that sells apparel, accessories, beauty products, home furnishings, jewelry, and other consumer merchandise through department stores, specialty stores, and digital platforms. Its principal brands include Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, and Bluemercury, a beauty retailer offering cosmetics, skincare, fragrance, and related services.

The company serves customers primarily in the United States through its stores and e-commerce operations. Macy’s offers a mix of national and private-brand merchandise, while Bloomingdale’s focuses on premium and luxury products and Bluemercury operates beauty stores and in-store beauty shops.