Macerich (NYSE:MAC) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Macerich Company (The) (NYSE:MAC) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $26.16 and last traded at $26.1670, with a volume of 98315 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $25.83.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MAC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Macerich from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Macerich from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Macerich from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Macerich from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Macerich from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $20.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Macerich currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $25.14.

Macerich Stock Up 0.3%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.06. The stock has a market cap of $7.35 billion, a P/E ratio of -36.50, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 2.06.

Macerich (NYSE:MAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $233.06 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.33 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Macerich Company will post 1.48 EPS for the current year.

Macerich Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 29th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Macerich’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -95.77%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Macerich

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Macerich by 20.1% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 77,872 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,338,000 after purchasing an additional 13,018 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Macerich by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 37,808 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $640,000 after purchasing an additional 813 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Macerich by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 148,592 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,551,000 after purchasing an additional 13,782 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Macerich by 376.2% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 906,843 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $15,570,000 after buying an additional 716,394 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Macerich by 12.8% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 26,361 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $453,000 after buying an additional 2,983 shares during the last quarter. 87.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Macerich Company Profile

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.