Morgan Stanley Cuts Macy’s (NYSE:M) Price Target to $16.00

Macy’s (NYSE:M) had its price objective lowered by Morgan Stanley from $17.00 to $16.00 in a report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Several other analysts have also commented on M. StockNews.com raised shares of Macy’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Argus raised shares of Macy’s to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of Macy’s in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.38.

Macy’s Trading Up 2.6 %

Macy’s stock opened at $16.56 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.59 billion, a PE ratio of 28.07 and a beta of 2.10. Macy’s has a 12-month low of $14.06 and a 12-month high of $22.10.

Macy’s (NYSE:M) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). Macy’s had a net margin of 0.73% and a return on equity of 21.99%. The company had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.21 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Macy’s will post 2.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Macy’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.1737 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.69 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.20%. Macy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 116.95%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Macy’s

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Macy’s by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,661,876 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,765,000 after buying an additional 118,626 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in Macy’s by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,691,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,611,000 after buying an additional 195,880 shares in the last quarter. Alerus Financial NA acquired a new position in shares of Macy’s during the 3rd quarter worth $2,144,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd increased its stake in shares of Macy’s by 96.4% during the 2nd quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 106,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,047,000 after purchasing an additional 52,337 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP increased its stake in shares of Macy’s by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,420,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,280,000 after purchasing an additional 70,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

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.