Macy’s Inc. shares soared 7.6% premarket Tuesday, after the department store chain reported fourth-quarter earnings that beat expectations and announced a dividend hike. The company posted net income of $742 million, or $2.44 per share, up from $160 million, or 50 cents per share, last year. Adjusted EPS of $2.45 exceeded the FactSet consensus for $2.01. Sales of $8.665 billion were up from $6.780 billion and ahead of the FactSet consensus for $8.465 billion. Digital sales were up 12% and accounted for 39% of net sales. Comparable sales on an owned basis were up 28.3%, and increased 27.7% on an owned-plus-licensed basis. The FactSet consensus was for a comparable sales increase of 25.1%. The company announced a new $2 billion share repurchase program after completing a previous $500 million program. The company also raised its dividend by 5% to 15.75 cents per quarter, payable on April 1 to shareholders of record as of close of business March 15. Macy’s stock has run up 68.2% over the last year while the S&P 500 index is up 12.2% for the period.
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