In the latest close session, Macy's (M) was up +1.28% at $18.55. The stock exceeded the S&P 500, which registered a loss of 0.07% for the day. Elsewhere, the Dow saw an upswing of 0.32%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq depreciated by 0.51%.
Coming into today, shares of the department store operator had lost 5.78% in the past month. In that same time, the Retail-Wholesale sector gained 0.34%, while the S&P 500 gained 5.58%.
The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Macy's in its forthcoming earnings report. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $0.02, reflecting a 87.5% decrease from the same quarter last year. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $4.62 billion, indicating a 0.52% growth compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year.
In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $2.11 per share and a revenue of $21.67 billion, indicating changes of -9.05% and -0.45%, respectively, from the former year.
Investors should also take note of any recent adjustments to analyst estimates for Macy's. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the business performance and profit potential.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To take advantage of this, we've established the Zacks Rank, an exclusive model that considers these estimated changes and delivers an operational rating system.
Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has remained unchanged. At present, Macy's boasts a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Digging into valuation, Macy's currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 8.74. This signifies a discount in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 12.77 for its industry.
The Retail - Regional Department Stores industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 35, this industry ranks in the top 15% of all industries, numbering over 250.
The Zacks Industry Rank evaluates the power of our distinct industry groups by determining the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks forming the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.
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Macy's, Inc. (M): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).