Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) Raised to "Buy" at Jefferies Financial Group

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a $198.00 target price on the real estate investment trust's stock, up from their previous target price of $179.00. Jefferies Financial Group's price objective suggests a potential upside of 14.10% from the company's previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on SPG. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of 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 report on Thursday, October 10th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $159.00 price objective (up previously from $157.50) on shares of Simon Property Group in a report on Thursday, September 12th. 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 target price for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Simon Property Group from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $160.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Simon Property Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $172.10.

Simon Property Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SPG traded up $1.32 on Thursday, reaching $173.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,154,458 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,453,008. Simon Property Group has a 52-week low of $135.15 and a 52-week high of $186.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.11, a PEG ratio of 10.50 and a beta of 1.75. The stock's 50-day moving average is $176.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $165.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.20, a current ratio of 2.00 and a quick ratio of 2.00.

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). Simon Property Group had a net margin of 43.36% and a return on equity of 76.21%. The company had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.20 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Simon Property Group will post 12.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Simon Property Group

In related news, Director Reuben S. Leibowitz bought 465 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $168.59 per share, for a total transaction of $78,394.35. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 55,919 shares in the company, valued at $9,427,384.21. This represents a 0.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 8.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Simon Property Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Simon Property Group by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,615 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $273,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Simon Property Group by 1.6% during the third quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 4,118 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $696,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment raised its position in shares of Simon Property Group by 0.9% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 7,721 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,305,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Simon Property Group by 1.1% during the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 6,175 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,044,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Finally, Avestar Capital LLC boosted its position in Simon Property Group by 2.8% during the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 2,648 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $448,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. 93.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.