Macy’s (NYSE:M) Trading Down 15.9% – Should You Sell?

Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M) shares were down 15.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $11.26 and last traded at $11.10. Approximately 3,378,997 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 44% from the average daily volume of 6,054,961 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.19.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

M has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group dropped their price target on Macy’s from $9.00 to $8.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Macy’s in a report on Friday, March 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Macy’s from $19.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Macy’s from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $19.00 to $14.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Macy’s from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Macy’s presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.30.

Macy’s Trading Down 0.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.17. The stock has a market cap of $3.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.25 and a beta of 2.07. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $14.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.18.

Macy’s (NYSE:M) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.25. Macy’s had a return on equity of 21.99% and a net margin of 0.73%. The business had revenue of $7.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.76 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Macy’s, Inc. will post 2.39 EPS for the current year.

Macy’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.1824 dividend. This is an increase from Macy’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.43%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Macy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Adrian V. Mitchell sold 3,489 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.74, for a total transaction of $47,938.86. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 116,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,596,107.10. This trade represents a 2.92 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Tracy M. Preston sold 2,780 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.68, for a total value of $35,250.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,723 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,887.64. The trade was a 37.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 41,751 shares of company stock valued at $537,790 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of M. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Macy’s in the 4th quarter valued at about $96,689,000. Junto Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Macy’s in the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,775,000. FMR LLC lifted its position in Macy’s by 59.9% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,503,742 shares of the company’s stock valued at $127,038,000 after purchasing an additional 2,812,151 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of Macy’s by 1,230.8% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,387,193 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,415,000 after purchasing an additional 2,207,809 shares during the period. Finally, Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Macy’s by 26.2% during the fourth quarter. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC now owns 7,838,240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $132,701,000 after purchasing an additional 1,627,572 shares during the period. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Macy’s Company Profile

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.