Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Thursday.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Simon Property Group from $139.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Simon Property Group from $143.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Simon Property Group from $144.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Simon Property Group from $142.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Simon Property Group from $148.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, December 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Simon Property Group presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $140.22.

Simon Property Group Price Performance

SPG opened at $140.36 on Thursday. Simon Property Group has a fifty-two week low of $100.17 and a fifty-two week high of $157.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.54. The firm has a market cap of $45.74 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’s 50-day moving average price is $149.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $135.23.

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

Simon Property Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $1.95 per share. This represents a $7.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.56%. This is a boost from Simon Property Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.90. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. Simon Property Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 111.75%.

Simon Property Group announced 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 shares. This buyback authorization allows the real estate investment trust to purchase up to 4.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Simon Property Group

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SPG. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Simon Property Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,561,181,000. Cowa LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Simon Property Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $107,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Simon Property Group by 13,226.4% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 920,586 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $131,312,000 after acquiring an additional 913,678 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Simon Property Group by 10.4% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,144,366 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $910,337,000 after acquiring an additional 765,146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Simon Property Group by 527.3% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 804,952 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $105,899,000 after acquiring an additional 676,627 shares in the last quarter. 93.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Simon Property Group

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.