Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Saturday morning.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Simon Property Group in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $195.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler raised Simon Property Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $175.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Simon Property Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $179.00 to $198.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Simon Property Group from $158.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Simon Property Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $180.33.

Simon Property Group Stock Performance

Shares of SPG opened at $165.32 on Friday. Simon Property Group has a 1 year low of $139.25 and a 1 year high of $190.14. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $177.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $174.62. The company has a market capitalization of $53.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.77, a PEG ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.19, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 1.28.

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $1.70. Simon Property Group had a net margin of 41.49% and a return on equity of 74.02%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Simon Property Group will post 12.54 EPS for the current year.

Simon Property Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.08%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Simon Property Group’s payout ratio is 115.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Simon Property Group news, Director Reuben S. Leibowitz bought 465 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $168.59 per share, for a total transaction of $78,394.35. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 55,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,427,384.21. This trade represents a 0.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 8.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Simon Property Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SPG. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Simon Property Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,059,505,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Simon Property Group by 617.5% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,191,296 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $539,393,000 after purchasing an additional 2,746,503 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Simon Property Group by 45.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,462,856 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $940,758,000 after purchasing an additional 1,718,398 shares during the period. Resolution Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Simon Property Group in the fourth quarter worth $212,592,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Simon Property Group by 373.6% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,259,648 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $212,906,000 after buying an additional 993,694 shares during the period. 93.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Simon Property Group

Simon Property Group, Inc (NYSE:SPG) is a self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT). Simon Property Group, L.P., or the Operating Partnership, is our majority-owned partnership subsidiary that owns all of our real estate properties and other assets. In this package, the terms Simon, we, our, or the Company refer to Simon Property Group, Inc, the Operating Partnership, and its subsidiaries.