Macerich (NYSE:MAC) Hits New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Macerich Company (The) (NYSE:MAC) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $24.63 and last traded at $24.4050, with a volume of 3453011 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $23.39.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MAC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Macerich from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $20.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Morgan Stanley set a $20.00 target price on shares of Macerich in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Macerich from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Evercore set a $22.00 target price on shares of Macerich in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Macerich from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.69.

Macerich Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $6.54 billion, a PE ratio of -35.26, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 2.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.83. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $21.90 and its 200-day moving average is $19.81.

Macerich (NYSE:MAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.03. Macerich had a negative net margin of 18.22% and a negative return on equity of 6.95%. The company had revenue of $241.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $233.06 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.33 EPS. Macerich’s revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Macerich Company will post 1.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Macerich Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Macerich’s dividend payout ratio is -95.77%.

Institutional Trading of Macerich

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Macerich by 76.8% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,347 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 585 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Macerich by 366.2% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,394 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,095 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Macerich by 80.4% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,535 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 684 shares during the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Macerich in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Macerich by 156.6% in the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 2,189 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,336 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.38% of the company’s stock.

About Macerich

The Macerich Company (NYSE: MAC) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that specializes in the acquisition, development, ownership and management of regional shopping centers in the United States. Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, the company focuses on high-quality retail properties, including enclosed malls, open-air centers and mixed-use lifestyle destinations. Since its establishment as a REIT in 1994, Macerich has pursued a disciplined strategy of investing in properties that serve strong consumer demographics and offer long-term growth potential.

Macerich’s core activities encompass property and asset management, leasing, marketing and redevelopment services.