Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New $2.15 Million Investment in Macerich Company (The) $MAC

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Macerich Company (The) (NYSE:MAC) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 113,600 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $2,147,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Macerich by 20.1% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 77,872 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,338,000 after acquiring an additional 13,018 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Macerich by 2.2% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 37,808 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $640,000 after acquiring an additional 813 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Macerich by 10.2% during the first 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 last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Macerich by 376.2% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 906,843 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $15,570,000 after purchasing an additional 716,394 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Macerich by 12.8% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 26,361 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $453,000 after purchasing an additional 2,983 shares during the period. 87.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MAC shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Macerich from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Macerich from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lifted their price objective on Macerich from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Macerich from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Macerich from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $23.00 to $25.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Macerich currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $25.00.

Macerich Price Performance

Shares of Macerich stock opened at $25.77 on Tuesday. Macerich Company has a 52 week low of $15.88 and a 52 week 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 company has a market capitalization of $7.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -36.29, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 2.10. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $22.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.42.

Macerich (NYSE:MAC) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $241.54 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $233.06 million. Macerich had a negative net margin of 18.22% and a negative return on equity of 6.95%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.33 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Macerich Company will post 1.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Macerich Dividend Announcement

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

Macerich 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.