Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Shares of Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Hold" from the ten analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $172.10.

SPG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Simon Property Group in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $195.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com downgraded Simon Property Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Mizuho upped their price target on Simon Property Group from $158.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a "hold" rating and set a $159.00 price objective (up from $157.50) on shares of Simon Property Group in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Simon Property Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $179.00 to $198.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd.

Simon Property Group Stock Performance

Shares of Simon Property Group stock traded up $0.61 during trading on Thursday, reaching $174.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,319,663 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,548,013. Simon Property Group has a one year low of $135.15 and a one year high of $186.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.20, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 2.00. The firm has a market cap of $57.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.50 and a beta of 1.75. The business's fifty day moving average price is $177.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $166.71.

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.00 by ($1.54). The business had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.32 billion. Simon Property Group had a return on equity of 76.21% and a net margin of 43.36%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.20 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Simon Property Group will post 12.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Simon Property Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $2.10 dividend. This is a positive change from Simon Property Group's previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.81%. Simon Property Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 111.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Reuben S. Leibowitz acquired 465 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $168.59 per share, with a total value of $78,394.35. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 55,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,427,384.21. This represents a 0.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 8.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SPG. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Simon Property Group in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Simon Property Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC bought a new position in Simon Property Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Simon Property Group during the 3rd quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Simon Property Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $52,000. 93.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Simon Property Group

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.