Macerich (NYSE:MAC) Raised to Buy at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Macerich (NYSE:MAC) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $23.00 price target on the real estate investment trust’s stock, up from their prior price target of $19.00.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on MAC. StockNews.com lowered Macerich from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Macerich from $13.00 to $14.60 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Macerich from $14.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Mizuho upgraded shares of Macerich from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $14.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Macerich from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Macerich has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.24.

Macerich Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:MAC opened at $20.54 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $5.10 billion, a PE ratio of 52.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 2.51. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. Macerich has a 12-month low of $12.99 and a 12-month high of $22.27.

Macerich (NYSE:MAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.50) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.90). The company had revenue of $220.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $208.54 million. Macerich had a return on equity of 3.15% and a net margin of 8.98%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.44 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Macerich will post 1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Macerich Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th were issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. Macerich’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 174.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Macerich

In related news, Director Andrea M. Stephen sold 63,289 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.59, for a total value of $1,303,120.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 83,479 shares in the company, valued at $1,718,832.61. This represents a 43.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Macerich

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in Macerich by 32.3% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 359,069 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,549,000 after purchasing an additional 87,611 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC raised its position in Macerich by 851.9% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 30,529 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $557,000 after acquiring an additional 27,322 shares in the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY lifted its holdings in Macerich by 742.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 1,695,420 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,924,000 after acquiring an additional 1,494,145 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. bought a new position in shares of Macerich during the 2nd quarter valued at about $10,625,000. Finally, Smead Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Macerich by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 20,433,449 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $372,706,000 after purchasing an additional 688,790 shares during the last quarter. 87.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Macerich Company Profile

Macerich is a fully integrated, self-managed and self-administered real estate investment trust (REIT). As a leading owner, operator and developer of high-quality retail real estate in densely populated and attractive U.S. markets, Macerich’s portfolio is concentrated in California, the Pacific Northwest, Phoenix/Scottsdale, and the Metro New York to Washington, DC corridor.