Jefferies Financial Group Upgrades Macerich (NYSE:MAC) to “Buy”

Macerich (NYSE:MAC) was upgraded by research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a $23.00 target price on the real estate investment trust’s stock, up from their previous target price of $19.00. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 11.98% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Macerich from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Compass Point lifted their price objective on Macerich from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Macerich from $13.00 to $14.60 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Mizuho raised Macerich from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $14.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Macerich from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Macerich has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.24.

Macerich Stock Up 1.5 %

MAC opened at $20.54 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. Macerich has a 12 month low of $12.99 and a 12 month high of $22.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 2.51. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.54.

Macerich (NYSE:MAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.50) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.90). The business had revenue of $220.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $208.54 million. Macerich had a return on equity of 3.15% and a net margin of 8.98%. The company’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.44 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Macerich will post 1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Macerich

In related news, Director Andrea M. Stephen sold 63,289 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.59, for a total value of $1,303,120.51. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 83,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,718,832.61. The trade was a 43.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Macerich

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MAC. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Macerich by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 275,731 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,029,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the period. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Macerich by 0.6% during the third quarter. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC now owns 154,082 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,810,000 after purchasing an additional 859 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Macerich by 7.2% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 13,448 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $245,000 after buying an additional 902 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Macerich by 40.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,214 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 933 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Macerich by 152.2% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,546 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 933 shares during the period. 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.