The momentum gathered from the better-than-expected
fourth-quarter fiscal 2012 results facilitated the shares of
Macy's Inc. ( M ) to craft a new
52-week high for the second consecutive week. After attaining a
high of $42.47 on Wednesday, Mar 13, shares of Macy's further
soared to touch a new high of $42.78 yesterday.
This Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) department store retailer
eventually closed at $42.55, recording a healthy year-to-date
return of roughly 11.6%. The company currently trades at a forward
P/E of 10.85x, a 4.6% discount to the peer group average of
11.37x.
Macy's has been consistently exhibiting a fair performance. The
company has been taking prudent steps to augment sales,
profitability and cash flows. These include integration of
operations, consolidation of divisions and customer-centric
localization initiatives. To help drive traffic, Macy's continues
to focus on price optimization, inventory management and
merchandise planning.
The company posted stronger-than-anticipated fourth-quarter
fiscal 2012 results, on the back of My Macy's localization
initiatives, omnichannel integration, robust online sales, and
effective cost management. It declared impressive results on Feb
26, 2013, wherein earnings of $2.05 per share surpassed the Zacks
Consensus Estimate of $1.98 by 3.5%. Macy's has outperformed the
Zacks Consensus Estimate for 11 straight quarters by an average of
38.5%.
Macy's total sales grew 7.2% to $9,350 million in the quarter
from $8,724 million in the year-ago period, and came ahead of the
Zacks Consensus Estimate of $9,327 million. Comparable-store sales
for the quarter climbed 3.9%.
Buoyed by healthy results, management now projects fiscal 2013
earnings between $3.90 and $3.95.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2013 rose 2.6% to $3.92
per share over the last 30 days. For fiscal 2014, the Zacks
Consensus Estimate advanced 1.4% over the same timeframe to $4.40
per share.
Alongside, companies like Gannett Company, Inc.
( GCI ),
Target Corporation ( TGT ) and The
Kroger Company ( KR ) attained new
52-week highs on Wednesday.
GANNETT INC (GCI): Free Stock Analysis ReportKROGER CO (KR): Free Stock Analysis ReportMACYS INC (M): Free Stock Analysis ReportTARGET CORP (TGT): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment
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