Macy’s Wows With Higher Guidance, Restored Dividend, Buyback By Investing.com

By Dhirendra Tripathi

Investing.com – Macy’s stock (NYSE:M) climbed nearly 8% in Thursday’s premarket trading as the department store operator raised its outlook.

The stock also got a boost from the reinstatement of its quarterly dividend of 15 cents a share and a $500 million share buyback program.

Macy’s sees 2021 net sales between $23.55 billion and $23.95 billion, up from the previous guidance of $21.73 billion to $22.23 billion.

Adjusted earnings as a percent of sales is seen in the range of 11% to 11.5%, which is 200 basis points above the previous estimate. One basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage.

The company brought approximately 5 million new customers into the Macy’s brand as it reengaged core customers and attracted new, younger ones with fresh brands and categories.

Digital sales fell 6% as more people chose to shop at stores to break the year-long monotony of ordering online during the pandemic.

Comparable sales rose 61% and total sales rose 59%, to $5.64 billion.

Higher revenue, combined with lower operating expenses, brought the company back to health with a net profit of $345 million compared to a loss of $431 million in the same quarter of 2020.