Barclays Upgrades Macy's (NYSE:M) to Hold

Macy's (NYSE:M - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Barclays to a "hold" rating in a report released on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage presently has a $12.00 price target on the stock. Barclays's target price indicates a potential upside of 0.42% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Cowen reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Macy's in a report on Friday, March 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Macy's from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $17.00 to $12.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $15.00 price target on shares of Macy's in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Gordon Haskett lowered shares of Macy's from an "accumulate" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Macy's from $9.00 to $8.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Macy's presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $14.18.

Macy's Price Performance

Shares of Macy's stock traded up $0.29 on Monday, hitting $11.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,628,365 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,277,965. The company has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.25 and a beta of 1.77. Macy's has a 52-week low of $9.76 and a 52-week high of $20.70. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $12.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $14.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Macy's (NYSE:M - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $1.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.25. Macy's had a net margin of 0.73% and a return on equity of 21.99%. The company had revenue of $7.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.76 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that Macy's will post 2.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Macy's

In other Macy's news, CEO Antony Spring sold 3,124 shares of the business'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 $42,923.76. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 272,680 shares in the company, valued at $3,746,623.20. The trade was a 1.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,723 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,887.64. The trade was a 37.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 41,751 shares of company stock worth $537,790. 1.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Macy's in the 4th quarter worth $96,689,000. Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Macy's in the fourth quarter worth about $48,775,000. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Macy's by 59.9% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,503,742 shares of the company's stock worth $127,038,000 after acquiring an additional 2,812,151 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in Macy's by 1,230.8% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC increased its holdings in Macy's by 26.2% during the 4th quarter. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC now owns 7,838,240 shares of the company's stock worth $132,701,000 after purchasing an additional 1,627,572 shares during the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is currently 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.