StockNews.com Initiates Coverage on SITE Centers (NYSE:SITC)

Investment analysts at StockNews.com began coverage on shares of SITE Centers (NYSE:SITC - Get Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday. The brokerage set a "buy" rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on SITC. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of SITE Centers from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of SITE Centers from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $68.00 to $19.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of SITE Centers to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Compass Point lowered their price objective on shares of SITE Centers from $64.00 to $17.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, KeyCorp restated a "sector weight" rating on shares of SITE Centers in a report on Monday, October 7th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, SITE Centers currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $58.89.

SITE Centers Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of SITE Centers stock traded down $0.17 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $15.83. 974,543 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 691,164. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 6.55 and a quick ratio of 6.55. SITE Centers has a 1-year low of $15.43 and a 1-year high of $64.44. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $24.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $134.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $829.97 million, a PE ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.62.

SITE Centers (NYSE:SITC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $6.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.87 by $5.20. SITE Centers had a net margin of 164.10% and a return on equity of 34.20%. The company had revenue of $89.43 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $104.55 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.32 EPS. SITE Centers's quarterly revenue was down 37.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that SITE Centers will post 2.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SITE Centers

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SITC. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in SITE Centers by 1.9% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 52,749 shares of the company's stock valued at $765,000 after purchasing an additional 976 shares during the last quarter. Vanderbilt University lifted its holdings in SITE Centers by 10.0% during the second quarter. Vanderbilt University now owns 12,378 shares of the company's stock valued at $179,000 after purchasing an additional 1,126 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in SITE Centers by 1.7% during the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 90,700 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,315,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. Vestcor Inc purchased a new stake in SITE Centers during the third quarter valued at about $95,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in SITE Centers by 6.3% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 29,065 shares of the company's stock valued at $421,000 after purchasing an additional 1,723 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.70% of the company's stock.

About SITE Centers

SITE Centers is an owner and manager of open-air shopping centers located in suburban, high household income communities. The Company is a self-administered and self-managed REIT operating as a fully integrated real estate company, and is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol SITC.