Santa must not have been impressed by how nice Macy’s Inc M 0.13% and its shareholders were in 2016 because they have gotten a big lump of coal in their stockings this holiday season.

What Happened?

Macy’s shares are down 14.2 percent in early Thursday trading after the company reported November-December sales comps of -2.1 percent. In addition, Macy’s slashed its full-year EPS guidance from $3.15–$3.40 to $2.95–$3.10.

For investors wondering whether the latest numbers from Macy’s are reason enough to either cut losses and sell or take a chance and buy on the dip, Jefferies analyst Randal Konik is taking a wait-and-see approach.

Analyst Commentary

“Steps to rationalize its footprint, reduce costs, and monetize real estate are encouraging, but we have LT concerns around competition and investments limiting EPS upside,” Konik explained.

He specifically likes Macy’s initiative to cut costs, including reducing its workforce by 6,200 employees and selling three locations for $95 million. However, Konik feels…

Click here to continue reading

Want to learn more about how to profit off the stock market? Or maybe you just want to be able to look sophisticated in front of your coworkers when they ask you what you are reading on your Kindle, and you’d prefer to tell them “Oh, I’m just reading a book about stock market analysis,” rather than the usual “Oh, I’m just looking at pics of my ex-girlfriend on Facebook.” For these reasons and more, check out my book, Beating Wall Street with Common Sense. I don’t have a degree in finance; I have a degree in neuroscience. You don’t have to predict what stocks will do if you can predict what traders will do and be one step ahead of them. I made a 400% return in the stock market over five years using only basic principles of psychology and common sense. Beating Wall Street with Common Sense is now available on Amazon, and tradingcommonsense.com is always available on your local internet!