Lafayette Investments Inc. Decreases Stake in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG)

Lafayette Investments Inc. lessened its stake in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) by 12.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,125 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 300 shares during the quarter. Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings in Simon Property Group were worth $303,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SPG. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new stake in Simon Property Group during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. DT Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in Simon Property Group by 714.3% during the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 228 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Selway Asset Management purchased a new stake in Simon Property Group during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Financial Freedom LLC purchased a new stake in Simon Property Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Tyler Stone Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Simon Property Group during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on SPG. StockNews.com upgraded Simon Property Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Simon Property Group from $142.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Simon Property Group from $139.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Simon Property Group from $144.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Simon Property Group from $143.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Simon Property Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.22.

Simon Property Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SPG traded up $0.21 during trading on Friday, reaching $140.58. The company had a trading volume of 230,310 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,488,490. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.39 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.54, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.77. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $149.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $135.23. Simon Property Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $100.17 and a fifty-two week high of $157.82.

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.34 by ($1.05). The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.38 billion. Simon Property Group had a net margin of 42.30% and a return on equity of 70.97%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.15 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Simon Property Group, Inc. will post 12.06 EPS for the current year.

Simon Property Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, February 8th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the real estate investment trust to buy up to 4.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Simon Property Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a $1.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $7.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.55%. This is a positive change from Simon Property Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.90. Simon Property Group’s payout ratio is presently 111.75%.

Simon Property Group Profile

Simon is a real estate investment trust engaged in the ownership of premier shopping, dining, entertainment and mixed-use destinations and an S&P 100 company (Simon Property Group, NYSE: SPG). Our properties across North America, Europe and Asia provide community gathering places for millions of people every day and generate billions in annual sales.