Why Macy’s Stock Continues to Trade Dirt Cheap

Macy's, Inc. (NYSE: M) announced last week a partnership with VeeFriends, an NFT project, to sell physical versions of its collectible characters exclusively for Macy's and Toys“R”Us. The collectibles will launch on Oct. 17, but a pre-sale option is already available. The plush and vinyl characters will range in price from $9.99 to $29.99 and will feature a printed QR code that leads to 3D animated short films and character songs.

Macy's stock has managed to find a bit of distance from its Sept. 26 annual low of $15.10, though the 50-day moving average has kept some of these gains in check. Year-to-date, M has lost over 34%. The security is sporting a slight lead for October, though it just came off a six-month losing streak. Still, Macy’s offers an incredibly low valuation at a forward price-earnings ratio of 4.20 and a price-sales ratio of 0.20.

Short sellers have begun hitting the exits, though these bears are still in control. While short interest on M fell 6.4% in the last reporting period, is still makes up 8.1% of the stock's available float. 

Meanwhile, the equity provides an attractive dividend yield of 3.61% at a forward dividend of $0.63. Nonetheless, the company holds just $300 million in cash and $6 billion in total debt on its balance sheet, outweighing its market cap of $4.75 billion by more than $1 billion and making its dividend unreliable. In addition, Macy’s is estimated to report a 0.1% increase in revenue and a 22.8% decrease in earnings for fiscal 2023, as well as a 0.3% decrease in revenue and a 2.4% decrease in earnings for fiscal 2024, indicating a downward trend for the business. As a result, the stock will likely continue to trade dirt cheap until the company shows some stability.