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Macy’s Inc. shares had their best day since 2013 after activist investor Starboard Value acquired a stake, saying the department-store chain’s stock would be worth $125 if it better capitalized on its real estate.

Macy’s could separate its properties from operations, unlocking value for investors, Starboard Chief Executive Officer Jeff Smith said on Wednesday at the CNBC Institutional Investor Delivering Alpha Conference in New York. Its real estate is worth $21 billion of the company’s $29 billion enterprise value, according to Starboard’s analysis.

The move follows Starboard’s historic campaign against Darden Restaurants Inc., Olive Garden’s parent company, which replaced its entire board after a proxy fight. Darden ultimately agreed to create a separate real estate investment trust, which will trade publicly. Smith said he hopes to now work with Macy’s management on a plan.

Macy’s rose 7.9 percent to $72.01 after Smith’s remarks, the biggest gain since November 2013. The stock was up just 1.5 percent this year through yesterday’s close, trailing the Standard & Poor’s 500.

In response to Smith’s comments, Macy’s noted that it has sold or exited several properties, though its strategy is to keep a mix of owned and leased stores.

“We work continuously to maximize shareholder value and exchange views with a wide variety of shareholders as we do so,” Jim Sluzewski, a spokesman for the retailer, said in an e-mail. “This is an ongoing process of disciplined allocation of capital that has included share repurchases, increased dividends and continued investments in our business, which has led to superior operating performance compared to the majority of our competitors.”

Sears’s Model

If Macy’s offloads more of its real estate, it would be embracing an approach used by other retailers, including Sears Holdings Corp. and Hudson’s Bay Co. Sales, meanwhile, have been sluggish, hurt by a slowdown in tourism, more competition and struggles at the Michael Kors brand.

Macy’s, the largest U.S. department-store company, reported first-quarter earnings in May that missed analysts’ estimates. The retailer blamed the tourism slump, unseasonably cold weather and West Coast port delays.

Macy’s has been trying to revive sales and broaden its customer base by adding brands and experimenting with lower-priced outlets. It’s also cutting costs and bolstering its Web capabilities, such as allowing customers to buy items online and pick them up in a store.

Closing Stores

The company is always evaluating its locations and is shedding a number of properties, including ones in Cupertino, California, and downtown Pittsburgh, Sluzewski said.

“We recognize the potential attractiveness of real estate investment trusts and similar alternative real estate ownership structures in today’s marketplace,” he said. “We are currently evaluating those structures including analyzing the various economic, tax, operational and other issues associated with them.”

Starboard typically targets small and mid-cap public companies it considers undervalued, pushing executives and directors for changes such as unit spinoffs and asset sales. The activist recently campaigned for changes at Yahoo! Inc., including the Web portal’s need to spin off its $40 billion stake in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. to shareholders in a tax-efficient way. Yahoo announced a plan to do so in January.

Starboard has racked up several other high-profile victories lately. It helped persuade LSB Industries Inc. to separate its chemicals and climate-control businesses while overhauling its board. And it pushed office-supply rivals Staples Inc. and Office Depot Inc. to merge.

(Updates with closing share price in fourth paragraph.)