Buckingham Research: Macy's Stock Has 17% Upside, Real Estate Monetization Now In Focus

In a report published Wednesday, Buckingham Research analyst David J. Glick maintained a Buy rating on

, with a price target of $82, after

announced a strategic real estate plan, adding to the positive catalysts. Darden's strategic real estate plan is "yet another real estate transaction" that brings into focus Macy's "significant and valuable retail ownership," analyst David Glick said. Macy's share price has been on the rise and hit a 52-week high yesterday, driven partly by the continued focus on the company's real estate optionality. In the report Buckingham Research noted, "While the structure (sale leaseback is unlikely for M in our view) and use of proceeds (DRI using to pay down debt, while M does not need to de-lever) would likely be different for DRI vs. M, it nonetheless highlights the market focus and the options available to companies like M which have significant and increasingly valuable underlying owned real estate." Glick estimated that a REIT structure could "potentially unlock" between $18 and $26 per share in value in Macy's shares. While saying that there was about 17 percent upside from the current share price, Glick added, "We believe there is limited downside risk in M shares to $57 and upside to $96 due to better than expected operational results and/or increased speculation or consideration of the monetization of its owned stores."