The Macerich Company (NYSE:MAC) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Shares of The Macerich Company (NYSE:MAC - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Hold" by the twelve research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $19.30.

MAC has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Macerich from $13.00 to $14.60 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Scotiabank raised Macerich from a "sector underperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $22.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Macerich from $14.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Macerich from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $20.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Macerich from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $19.00 to $23.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Macerich news, Director Andrea M. Stephen sold 63,289 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now owns 83,479 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,718,832.61. This represents a 43.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MAC. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Macerich in the fourth quarter valued at $771,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Macerich by 36.5% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,388 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 1,174 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Macerich by 0.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,426,909 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $99,004,000 after buying an additional 34,982 shares in the last quarter. Vestcor Inc raised its position in shares of Macerich by 91.4% in the third quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 193,777 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,534,000 after buying an additional 92,551 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its stake in shares of Macerich by 0.7% during the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 314,000 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $5,727,000 after buying an additional 2,322 shares during the period. 87.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Macerich Stock Performance

MAC traded down $0.07 during trading on Thursday, hitting $19.51. 1,102,476 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,772,393. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. Macerich has a 1-year low of $12.99 and a 1-year high of $22.27. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $20.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.04, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 2.51.

Macerich (NYSE:MAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.50) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.90). Macerich had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 3.15%. The business had revenue of $220.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $208.54 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.44 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Macerich will post 1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Macerich Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th were issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. Macerich's dividend payout ratio is currently 174.36%.

About Macerich

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.