StockNews.com Downgrades Macerich (NYSE:MAC) to Sell

Macerich (NYSE:MAC) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on MAC. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Macerich from $12.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 20th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Macerich from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $8.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Macerich from $9.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $16.00 target price on shares of Macerich in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $14.40.

Macerich Stock Performance

NYSE:MAC opened at $15.29 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. The company has a fifty day moving average of $16.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $14.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.30 billion, a PE ratio of -12.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 2.33. Macerich has a fifty-two week low of $9.05 and a fifty-two week high of $17.69.

Macerich (NYSE:MAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.26). The company had revenue of $238.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $224.49 million. Macerich had a negative return on equity of 10.26% and a negative net margin of 31.00%. The business’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.53 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Macerich will post 1.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Hern Thomas E. O sold 95,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.94, for a total transaction of $1,609,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 102,900 shares in the company, valued at $1,743,126. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Macerich news, President Edward C. Coppola sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.20, for a total transaction of $860,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 655,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,277,472.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Hern Thomas E. O sold 95,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.94, for a total transaction of $1,609,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 102,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,743,126. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 172,964 shares of company stock worth $2,940,030. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Monument Capital Management purchased a new position in Macerich during the first quarter worth about $406,000. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Macerich by 1.6% during the first quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 60,937 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,050,000 after buying an additional 978 shares during the period. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Macerich during the first quarter worth about $577,000. Jessup Wealth Management Inc purchased a new position in Macerich during the first quarter worth about $7,222,000. Finally, Vert Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Macerich by 4.9% during the first quarter. Vert Asset Management LLC now owns 94,060 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,621,000 after buying an additional 4,378 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.38% of the company’s stock.

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.