Macy’s (NYSE:M) Hits New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE:M)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $10.56 and last traded at $10.75, with a volume of 3981174 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $11.38.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on M. Citigroup cut their target price on Macy’s from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. New Street Research set a $13.00 price objective on shares of Macy’s in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Macy’s from $19.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $14.00 price target on shares of Macy’s in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Macy’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $15.30.

Macy’s Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.42 and a beta of 1.73. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $14.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Macy’s (NYSE:M) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.25. The company 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Macy’s, Inc. will post 2.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Macy’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.1824 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.71%. This is a boost from Macy’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Macy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.44%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Tracy M. Preston sold 2,780 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.68, for a total value of $35,250.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,723 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,887.64. This trade represents a 37.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Adrian V. Mitchell sold 3,489 shares of Macy’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.74, for a total transaction of $47,938.86. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 116,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,596,107.10. This represents a 2.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 41,751 shares of company stock worth $537,790. Insiders own 2.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Macy’s

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Macy’s in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in shares of Macy’s by 82.1% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,149 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 969 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Macy’s in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in Macy’s by 495.5% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 3,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 2,839 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp acquired a new position in Macy’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $102,000. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.