Macy’s (NYSE:M) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

Macy’s (NYSE:M) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Thursday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Macy’s from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Macy’s from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Macy’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $17.00 price target on shares of Macy’s in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Argus upgraded Macy’s to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $18.56.

Macy’s Trading Down 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE:M opened at $17.54 on Thursday. Macy’s has a 52-week low of $14.06 and a 52-week high of $22.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 1.26. The company has a market capitalization of $4.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.73 and a beta of 2.10. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $16.35.

Macy’s (NYSE:M) last released 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 business had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.21 EPS. Macy’s’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Macy’s will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Macy’s

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. United Services Automobile Association raised its position in shares of Macy’s by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 22,038 shares of the company’s stock valued at $423,000 after buying an additional 1,012 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in Macy’s by 2.5% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 44,337 shares of the company’s stock worth $851,000 after purchasing an additional 1,095 shares during the last quarter. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Macy’s by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC now owns 12,116 shares of the company’s stock valued at $190,000 after purchasing an additional 1,248 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Macy’s by 19.9% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,000 after purchasing an additional 1,319 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Macy’s by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 76,784 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,474,000 after purchasing an additional 1,462 shares during the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Macy’s

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.