Short Interest in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) Decreases By 24.7%

Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 4,200,000 shares, a decrease of 24.7% from the February 13th total of 5,580,000 shares. Currently, 1.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,480,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.8 days.

Simon Property Group Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:SPG traded down $0.36 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $164.44. 788,411 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,337,506. The company has a quick ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.65 billion, a PE ratio of 22.71, a P/E/G ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.78. Simon Property Group has a one year low of $139.25 and a one year high of $190.14. The business's 50 day moving average is $176.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $174.40.

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.98 by $1.70. Simon Property Group had a return on equity of 74.02% and a net margin of 41.49%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Simon Property Group will post 12.54 earnings per share for the current year.

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Simon Property Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Simon Property Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 115.70%.

Insider Transactions at Simon Property Group

In other news, Director Reuben S. Leibowitz purchased 465 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $168.59 per share, with a total value of $78,394.35. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 55,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,427,384.21. This trade represents a 0.84 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 8.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Simon Property Group by 3.9% in the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,615 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $273,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Simon Property Group by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 227,776 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $38,499,000 after acquiring an additional 12,854 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Simon Property Group by 3.0% during the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,509 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,100,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in Simon Property Group by 3.4% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 45,308 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $7,658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,506 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Simon Property Group by 17.2% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 43,810 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $7,405,000 after purchasing an additional 6,437 shares in the last quarter. 93.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SPG. Mizuho boosted their target price on Simon Property Group from $158.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com cut shares of Simon Property Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Simon Property Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $179.00 to $198.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Scotiabank set a $186.00 price target on shares of Simon Property Group in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Simon Property Group in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "hold" rating and a $195.00 price objective on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $180.33.

Simon Property Group Company Profile

Simon Property Group, Inc NYSE: SPG is a self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT). Simon Property Group, L.P., or the Operating Partnership, is our majority-owned partnership subsidiary that owns all of our real estate properties and other assets. In this package, the terms Simon, we, our, or the Company refer to Simon Property Group, Inc, the Operating Partnership, and its subsidiaries.