The Macerich Company (NYSE:MAC) Receives Average Recommendation of “Reduce” from Analysts

The Macerich Company (NYSE:MAC) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the four ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and three have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $14.40.

MAC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup raised Macerich from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $8.00 to $17.00 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $16.00 target price on shares of Macerich in a report on Monday, March 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Macerich from $9.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Macerich from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th.

Macerich Trading Up 2.7 %

NYSE:MAC opened at $15.71 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. Macerich has a one year low of $9.05 and a one year high of $17.69. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $16.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.44. The stock has a market cap of $3.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 2.33.

Macerich (NYSE:MAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.26). Macerich had a negative net margin of 31.00% and a negative return on equity of 10.26%. The firm had revenue of $238.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $224.49 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.53 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Macerich will post 1.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Macerich Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 16th were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. Macerich’s payout ratio is currently -53.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Macerich

In other Macerich news, President Edward C. Coppola sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.20, for a total transaction of $860,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 655,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,277,472.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Edward C. Coppola sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.01, for a total transaction of $340,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 635,667 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,812,695.67. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, President Edward C. Coppola sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.20, for a total value of $860,000.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 655,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,277,472.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 172,964 shares of company stock valued at $2,940,030. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Macerich

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its position in shares of Macerich by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 81,330 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,255,000 after acquiring an additional 745 shares during the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Macerich by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 60,937 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,050,000 after acquiring an additional 978 shares during the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Macerich by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 13,666 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $211,000 after acquiring an additional 1,040 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Macerich by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 25,312 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $276,000 after acquiring an additional 1,049 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Macerich by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 23,313 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $360,000 after purchasing an additional 1,275 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.38% of the company’s stock.

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.