The Goldman Sachs Group Lowers Macerich (NYSE:MAC) Price Target to $14.40

Macerich (NYSE:MAC) had its price objective reduced by The Goldman Sachs Group from $16.70 to $14.40 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “sell” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price target indicates a potential downside of 9.41% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on MAC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Macerich in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $22.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho raised shares of Macerich from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $14.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Macerich from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Macerich from $22.00 to $18.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Macerich from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $19.00 to $23.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Macerich presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.03.

Macerich Price Performance

NYSE:MAC traded down $0.99 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $15.90. 1,201,384 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,788,746. Macerich has a 1-year low of $12.99 and a 1-year high of $22.27. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $19.92 and its 200-day moving average is $19.05. The stock has a market cap of $4.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 2.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 transaction of $1,303,120.51. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 83,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,718,832.61. The trade was a 43.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Macerich

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Macerich by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,617,446 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $769,260,000 after purchasing an additional 4,503,509 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Macerich by 87.3% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 22,047,786 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $439,192,000 after purchasing an additional 10,274,895 shares in the last quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Macerich by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 20,433,449 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $372,706,000 after buying an additional 688,790 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Macerich by 845.9% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,051,286 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $200,222,000 after buying an additional 8,988,665 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Macerich by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,001,399 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $119,573,000 after buying an additional 574,490 shares during the last quarter. 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.