Brokerages Set Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M) Price Target at $15.30

Shares of Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have given a hold recommendation, one has given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $15.30.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on M shares. Morgan Stanley set a $14.00 target price on Macy’s in a report on Monday, March 10th. Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Macy’s in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup reduced their target price 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. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Macy’s in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Macy’s from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $19.00 to $14.00 in a report on Thursday, March 6th.

Macy’s Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of Macy’s stock opened at $13.62 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a current ratio of 1.26. The company has a market capitalization of $3.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.08 and a beta of 2.07. Macy’s has a 1 year low of $12.60 and a 1 year high of $20.70. The company’s fifty day moving average is $14.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.31.

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

Macy’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.1824 per share. This is a positive change from Macy’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.73 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.36%. Macy’s’s payout ratio is 35.44%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Macy’s

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Macy’s by 4.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,661,876 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,765,000 after acquiring an additional 118,626 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Macy’s by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,691,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,611,000 after purchasing an additional 195,880 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Macy’s during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $594,000. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Macy’s by 724.1% in the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 103,584 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,754,000 after buying an additional 91,015 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alerus Financial NA acquired a new stake in Macy’s during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,144,000. 87.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.