Federated to change symbol to `M' after Macy's switch
By Edgar Ortega and Cotten Timberlake
Bloomberg News
Published March 28, 2007, 5:05 PM CDT
Federated Department Stores Inc., owner of Macy's and Bloomingdale's, will change its stock symbol to ``M'' after it begins operating under the Macy's Inc. name.
The symbol will switch from ``FD'' effective June 1 if shareholders agree to the company name change at their annual meeting on May 18, the retailer said today in a statement.
Federated will ask investors to approve the name Macy's Inc., rather than previously planned Macy's Group Inc., because the single-letter stock symbol was available. Federated, which purchased May Department Stores Co. in 2005, has doubled the number of Macy's stores to 800 to create a nationwide chain. Macy's accounts for 90 percent of Federated's revenue.
The New York Stock Exchange is assigning ``M'' to a company for the first time since 1993. Investors have speculated that the exchange was reserving the symbol to lure Microsoft Corp., the world's largest software maker, from the Nasdaq.
``A single letter obviously has a lot of power and simplicity,'' said Federated spokesman Jim Sluzewski. ``When we had availability to the single letter, it made more sense to shorten the name to keep it as simple as possible.''
Shares of Federated, based in Cincinnati, fell 80 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $45.43 at 3:43 p.m. in NYSE composite trading. They increased 15 percent last year, less than half the 39 percent gain for rival J.C. Penney Co.
Under Chief Executive Officer Terry Lundgren, Federated converted 11 May nameplates, including Marshall Field's and Filene's, to the Macy's brand. It also operates the smaller Bloomingdale's chain, which has 38 stores.
The company, the second-largest department-store operator after Sears Holding Corp., was founded under the Federated name in 1929. It has traded under the ``FD'' symbol since 1992.
Bloomberg News
Published March 28, 2007, 5:05 PM CDT
Federated Department Stores Inc., owner of Macy's and Bloomingdale's, will change its stock symbol to ``M'' after it begins operating under the Macy's Inc. name.
The symbol will switch from ``FD'' effective June 1 if shareholders agree to the company name change at their annual meeting on May 18, the retailer said today in a statement.
Federated will ask investors to approve the name Macy's Inc., rather than previously planned Macy's Group Inc., because the single-letter stock symbol was available. Federated, which purchased May Department Stores Co. in 2005, has doubled the number of Macy's stores to 800 to create a nationwide chain. Macy's accounts for 90 percent of Federated's revenue.
The New York Stock Exchange is assigning ``M'' to a company for the first time since 1993. Investors have speculated that the exchange was reserving the symbol to lure Microsoft Corp., the world's largest software maker, from the Nasdaq.
``A single letter obviously has a lot of power and simplicity,'' said Federated spokesman Jim Sluzewski. ``When we had availability to the single letter, it made more sense to shorten the name to keep it as simple as possible.''
Shares of Federated, based in Cincinnati, fell 80 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $45.43 at 3:43 p.m. in NYSE composite trading. They increased 15 percent last year, less than half the 39 percent gain for rival J.C. Penney Co.
Under Chief Executive Officer Terry Lundgren, Federated converted 11 May nameplates, including Marshall Field's and Filene's, to the Macy's brand. It also operates the smaller Bloomingdale's chain, which has 38 stores.
The company, the second-largest department-store operator after Sears Holding Corp., was founded under the Federated name in 1929. It has traded under the ``FD'' symbol since 1992.
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