Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M) is scheduled to report its fiscal fourth-quarter financial results before the markets open Tuesday. The consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters call for $1.89 in earnings per share (EPS) on $8.83 billion in revenue. In the same period of last year, the retailer posted EPS of $2.44 and $9.36 billion in revenue.

This company had a tough run over the holiday season and the company suffered, but no one thought that it might be this bad. This department store posted its same-store sales for the November/December and at the same time announced “cost efficient initiatives.”

For this holiday season, comparable sales on an owned plus licensed basis declined by 4.7% in the months of November and December 2015 combined, compared with the same period last year. On an owned basis, comparable sales declined by 5.2%.

Overall, Macy’s is not expecting a major change in sales trends in January and expects a comparable sales decline on an owned plus licensed basis in the fourth quarter to account for the November/December numbers.

On the cost-efficiency side, beginning in early 2016 the company will reduce SG&A expense by approximately $400 million while still investing in growth strategies, particularly in omnichannel capabilities at Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s.

Terry J. Lundgren, Macy’s chairman and CEO, commented on the holiday sales update:

The holiday selling season was challenging, as experienced throughout 2015 by much of the retailing industry. In the November/December period, we were particularly disadvantaged by the historically warm weather in northern climate zones where both Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s are especially well-represented. About 80 percent of our company’s year-over-year declines in comparable sales can be attributed to shortfalls in cold-weather goods such as coats, sweaters, boots, hats, gloves and scarves. We also continued to feel the impact of lower spending by international tourists as the value of the dollar remained strong.

A few analysts weighed in on Macy’s prior to its earnings report:

• Sterne Agee CRT has a Neutral rating and raised its price target to $43 from $42.
• Nomura reiterated a Buy rating with a $50 price target.
• Morgan Stanley downgraded to a Sell rating.
• BMO Capital Markets reiterated a Buy rating.
• Credit Suisse reiterated a Buy rating.

So far in 2016, Macy’s has outperformed the broad markets, with the stock up 15% year to date. However, over the past 52 weeks the stock is down over 34%.

Shares of Macy’s were trading up 1.2% at $40.73 on Monday, with a consensus analyst price target of $43.40 and a 52-week trading range of $34.05 to $73.61.

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