Macy’s (NYSE:M) Shares Gap Up Following Earnings Beat

Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $19.10, but opened at $19.60. Macy’s shares last traded at $19.08, with a volume of 4,298,785 shares.

The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $4.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.82 billion. Macy’s had a return on equity of 21.40% and a net margin of 0.05%. The company’s revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.56 EPS.

Macy’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.1737 per share. This represents a $0.69 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Macy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2,300.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Macy’s from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Macy’s in a research report on Saturday, May 18th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Macy’s from $16.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $21.00 price objective on shares of Macy’s in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Macy’s from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Macy’s has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.73.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Danielle L. Kirgan sold 15,070 shares of Macy’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.42, for a total transaction of $307,729.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 306,555 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,259,853.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Adrian V. Mitchell sold 13,249 shares of Macy’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.42, for a total value of $270,544.58. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 99,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,023,581.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Danielle L. Kirgan sold 15,070 shares of Macy’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.42, for a total value of $307,729.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 306,555 shares in the company, valued at $6,259,853.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 218,424 shares of company stock worth $4,405,507. 2.77% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Macy’s during the fourth quarter valued at $62,529,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Macy’s by 7.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,381,604 shares of the company’s stock valued at $422,390,000 after purchasing an additional 2,645,577 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in Macy’s by 260.8% during the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,547,529 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,577,000 after purchasing an additional 1,841,432 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Macy’s by 48.9% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,272,297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,211,000 after purchasing an additional 1,730,307 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Macy’s by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 12,398,149 shares of the company’s stock valued at $249,456,000 after purchasing an additional 1,685,986 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Macy’s Trading Up 0.2 %

The stock has a market cap of $5.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 670.67 and a beta of 2.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The business has a 50-day moving average of $19.50 and a 200-day moving average of $18.49.

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.