Macy's (M) Competitors

Macy's (NYSE:M) and Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) are both retail/wholesale companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, media sentiment, earnings, dividends, valuation and profitability.

Does the media prefer M or COST?

In the previous week, Costco Wholesale had 113 more articles in the media than Macy's. MarketBeat recorded 117 mentions for Costco Wholesale and 4 mentions for Macy's. Costco Wholesale's average media sentiment score of 1.14 beat Macy's' score of 0.36 indicating that Costco Wholesale is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Macy's	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Costco Wholesale	75 Very Positive mention(s)	15 Positive mention(s)	19 Neutral mention(s)	4 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is M or COST more profitable?

Costco Wholesale has a net margin of 2.92% compared to Macy's' net margin of 2.45%. Costco Wholesale's return on equity of 30.48% beat Macy's' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Macy's	2.45%	16.34%	4.35%
Costco Wholesale	2.92%	30.48%	10.52%

Which has more volatility & risk, M or COST?

Macy's has a beta of 1.79, meaning that its stock price is 79% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Costco Wholesale has a beta of 0.96, meaning that its stock price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts recommend M or COST?

Macy's currently has a consensus target price of $13.22, suggesting a potential upside of 3.22%. Costco Wholesale has a consensus target price of $1,050.00, suggesting a potential upside of 8.02%. Given Costco Wholesale's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Costco Wholesale is more favorable than Macy's.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Macy's	2 Sell rating(s)	9 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
Costco Wholesale	0 Sell rating(s)	10 Hold rating(s)	17 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.63

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in M or COST?

87.4% of Macy's shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 68.5% of Costco Wholesale shares are held by institutional investors. 1.1% of Macy's shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Costco Wholesale shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is M or COST a better dividend stock?

Macy's pays an annual dividend of $0.73 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.7%. Costco Wholesale pays an annual dividend of $5.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Macy's pays out 37.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Costco Wholesale pays out 29.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Macy's has increased its dividend for 4 consecutive years and Costco Wholesale has increased its dividend for 22 consecutive years.

Which has higher valuation and earnings, M or COST?

Costco Wholesale has higher revenue and earnings than Macy's. Macy's is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Costco Wholesale, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Macy's	$23.01B	0.15	$582M	$1.97	6.50
Costco Wholesale	$254.45B	1.69	$7.37B	$17.63	55.14

Summary

Costco Wholesale beats Macy's on 15 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.