Macerich (NYSE:MAC – Get Free Report) and SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust (OTCMKTS:CWYUF – Get Free Report) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, risk, dividends and earnings.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Macerich and SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Macerich | 3 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 2.31 |
| SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2.33 |
Macerich presently has a consensus target price of $20.77, indicating a potential downside of 5.29%. Given Macerich’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Macerich is more favorable than SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust.
Earnings & Valuation
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Macerich | $1.01 billion | 5.55 | -$197.15 million | ($0.77) | -28.48 |
| SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust | $654.07 million | 5.66 | $180.22 million | $1.23 | 16.89 |
SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Macerich. Macerich is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares Macerich and SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Macerich | -19.44% | -7.32% | -2.25% |
| SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust | 38.27% | 5.01% | 2.62% |
Institutional & Insider Ownership
87.4% of Macerich shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of Macerich shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 20.9% of SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Dividends
Macerich pays an annual dividend of $0.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust pays an annual dividend of $1.33 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.4%. Macerich pays out -88.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust pays out 108.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.
Risk & Volatility
Macerich has a beta of 2.2, meaning that its share price is 120% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust has a beta of 0.86, meaning that its share price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust beats Macerich on 10 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.
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, D.C. corridor. Developing and managing properties that serve as community cornerstones, Macerich currently owns 47 million square feet of real estate consisting primarily of interests in 44 regional town centers. Macerich is firmly dedicated to advancing environmental goals, social good and sound corporate governance. A recognized leader in sustainability, Macerich has achieved a #1 Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) ranking for the North American retail sector for nine consecutive years (2015-2023).
About SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust
SmartCentres is one of Canada’s largest fully integrated REITs, with a best-in-class and growing mixed-use portfolio featuring 191 strategically located properties in communities across the country. SmartCentres has approximately $12.0 billion in assets and owns 35.0 million square feet of income producing value-oriented retail and first-class office properties with 98.5% in place and committed occupancy, on 3,500 acres of owned land across Canada.
Receive News & Ratings for Macerich Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Macerich and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
