Jefferies Financial Group Upgrades Macerich (NYSE:MAC) to Strong-Buy

Macerich (NYSE:MAC) was upgraded by Jefferies Financial Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Friday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial raised their target price on Macerich from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Macerich from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $20.00 to $27.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised Macerich from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Macerich from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Macerich from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Macerich currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.00.

Macerich Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of MAC opened at $25.81 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -36.35, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 2.10. Macerich has a twelve month low of $15.88 and a twelve month high of $25.97. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.35.

Macerich (NYSE:MAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.34 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $241.54 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $233.06 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.33 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Macerich will post 1.48 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Centersquare Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Macerich by 149.6% in the fourth quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 6,354,661 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $117,307,000 after acquiring an additional 3,808,336 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Macerich in the fourth quarter worth approximately $66,924,000. Resolution Capital Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Macerich by 204.0% in the first quarter. Resolution Capital Ltd now owns 4,384,180 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $82,861,000 after buying an additional 2,941,909 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Macerich by 139.8% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,675,803 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $67,855,000 after buying an additional 2,142,737 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Macerich by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 13,555,892 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $250,242,000 after acquiring an additional 2,034,338 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.38% of the company’s stock.

About Macerich

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.