Piper Sandler Downgrades Macerich (NYSE:MAC) to Underweight

Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Macerich (NYSE:MAC) from a neutral rating to an underweight rating in a report published on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has $11.00 price target on the real estate investment trust’s stock, down from their prior price target of $17.00.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on MAC. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Macerich from $9.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a sell rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Macerich from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Truist Financial reiterated a hold rating and issued a $16.00 price target on shares of Macerich in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Macerich from a sell rating to a neutral rating and increased their price objective for the company from $8.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Macerich has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $14.83.

Macerich Price Performance

MAC stock opened at $14.29 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $16.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.67. Macerich has a 12-month low of $9.05 and a 12-month high of $17.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85. The company has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a PE ratio of -9.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 2.38.

Macerich (NYSE:MAC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.26). Macerich had a negative net margin of 38.96% and a negative return on equity of 13.42%. The firm had revenue of $238.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $224.49 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.53 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Macerich will post 1.77 EPS for the current year.

Macerich Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. Macerich’s payout ratio is -43.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, President Edward C. Coppola sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.20, for a total value of $860,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 655,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,277,472.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, President Edward C. Coppola sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.20, for a total transaction of $860,000.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 655,667 shares in the company, valued at $11,277,472.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Hern Thomas E. O sold 7,964 shares of Macerich stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.39, for a total transaction of $130,529.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 197,900 shares in the company, valued at $3,243,581. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 172,964 shares of company stock worth $2,940,030 in the last ninety days. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Macerich

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in Macerich by 152.4% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,166 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,308 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Macerich during the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Macerich during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Macerich in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Macerich in the 1st quarter valued at $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.