Macerich (NYSE:MAC) Upgraded by Jefferies Financial Group to Buy Rating

Macerich (NYSE:MAC) was upgraded by equities researchers at Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage presently has a $23.00 target price on the real estate investment trust’s stock, up from their prior target price of $19.00. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 15.46% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on MAC. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Macerich from a “sector underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $22.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. StockNews.com cut Macerich from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Mizuho upgraded Macerich from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $14.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Macerich in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $22.00 target price for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Macerich from $13.00 to $14.60 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.24.

Macerich Stock Down 0.2 %

MAC opened at $19.92 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 2.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. Macerich has a one year low of $12.99 and a one year high of $22.27. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.48.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Andrea M. Stephen sold 63,289 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.59, for a total transaction of $1,303,120.51. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 83,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,718,832.61. The trade was a 43.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Macerich

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Macerich by 152.2% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,546 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 933 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Macerich in the 2nd quarter valued at $50,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Macerich by 40.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,214 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 933 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Macerich in the second quarter worth about $129,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Macerich by 34.8% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 8,374 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $150,000 after acquiring an additional 2,161 shares in the last quarter. 87.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Macerich

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.