Macerich (NYSE:MAC) Raised to "Equal Weight" at Morgan Stanley

Macerich (NYSE:MAC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a $20.00 price objective on the real estate investment trust's stock. Morgan Stanley's price target points to a potential upside of 2.46% from the company's current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Scotiabank upgraded Macerich from a "sector underperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $22.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Mizuho upgraded shares of Macerich from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $14.00 to $22.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Macerich from $14.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Macerich from $13.00 to $14.60 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Macerich in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "hold" rating and a $22.00 price target on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $19.30.

Macerich Price Performance

Shares of MAC traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $19.52. The company had a trading volume of 1,603,629 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,846,781. The company has a market capitalization of $4.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.05, a P/E/G 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. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $20.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.83. Macerich has a 1-year low of $12.99 and a 1-year high of $22.27.

Macerich (NYSE:MAC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.50) earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $220.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $208.54 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.44 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Macerich will post 1.56 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Macerich news, Director Andrea M. Stephen sold 63,289 shares of Macerich stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now directly owns 83,479 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,718,832.61. The trade was a 43.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Macerich

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Macerich by 152.2% during the 3rd 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 position in shares of Macerich during the second quarter worth approximately $50,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Macerich by 40.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,214 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 933 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Macerich in the 2nd quarter valued at $129,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake 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 valued at $150,000 after purchasing an additional 2,161 shares in the last quarter. 87.38% of the stock is currently 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.