Key Highlights

  • M is trading down 0.45% at $23.32 on October 21, with a market capitalization of about $6.10 billion.
  • The P/E is 8.60 and the PEG is 0.47, with a forward P/E of 11.04.
  • Fiscal 2026 revenue was $22.62 billion, down 1.67%, while earnings were $642 million, up 10.3%.
  • The net sales outlook was raised on September 10 to $21.68 billion to $21.83 billion.
  • The annual dividend is $0.77 per share, a yield of 3.27%.

What Are Investors Missing About Macy's as a Low P/E Growth Stock Drawing Heavy Put Activity?

Macy's (NYSE:M) is trading down 0.45% at $23.32 on October 21, and no company announcement was identified for the session. The only item found was a report of unusually heavy bearish put option activity around October 20, with put volume at roughly 56 times the expected level. That is context, not a confirmed cause of the move.

What investors may be missing is that the shares carry a P/E of 8.60 and a PEG of 0.47, a combination that placed the stock in a screen of low P/E, low PEG growth names. The growth input behind that screen could not be confirmed. The screen's requirement of EPS growth above 25% was not sourced, and the latest annual earnings growth of 10.3% does not clearly show it.

A PEG below 1.0 is only as reliable as the growth estimate behind it. Market capitalization is about $6.10 billion.

How Much Growth Sits Behind a Multiple of 8.60 Times Earnings?

Fiscal 2026 revenue was $22.62 billion, down 1.67%, while earnings were $642 million, up 10.3%. Earnings grew while sales fell, but the sources reviewed do not explain what drove the gap between the two.

The forward P/E of 11.04 is higher than the trailing P/E of 8.60. At an unchanged price, that implies forward earnings per share below the trailing figure, which is a calculated implication rather than a company statement.

The company pays an annual dividend of $0.77 per share, equal to a yield of 3.27%, and the most recent ex-dividend date was September 15.

Did a Beat and Raise on September 10 Hold the Shares?

The company reported second-quarter fiscal 2026 results on September 10. Comparable sales for the go-forward business rose 2.8%, and comparable sales for the Macy's nameplate rose 1.1%. The omni-channel retailer also operates Bloomingdale's and Bluemercury.

Management raised the full-year net sales outlook to $21.68 billion to $21.83 billion from $21.5 billion to $21.75 billion. At the midpoints, $21.755 billion is about $130 million, or 0.6%, above $21.625 billion, calculated. Shares fell after the report despite the beat and the raised outlook, which means the reaction ran against the headline results.

Consensus sits at Hold with an average price target of $23.18, which is $0.14 below the current price, calculated. The target is cited as a data point only.

What Would Move the Growth Case After October 21?

The next earnings report is estimated for December 2, though a company confirmation was not found. Until then the stock is trading without a company-specific catalyst. The test for the screen is whether earnings growth can be shown to exceed the 10.3% annual rate, since the 0.47 PEG depends on a growth figure that remains unconfirmed, and whether the heavy put activity proves to be an isolated event.