Macerich (NYSE:MAC) Sets New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Macerich Company (The) (NYSE:MAC) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $22.72 and last traded at $22.49, with a volume of 1974588 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $22.17.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MAC shares. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Macerich from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Macerich from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. KeyCorp set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Macerich and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Macerich from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Macerich from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.17.

Macerich Trading Up 1.4%

The firm has a market cap of $5.88 billion, a P/E ratio of -31.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 2.12. The business’s 50-day moving average is $20.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Macerich (NYSE:MAC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.34 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $233.06 million. Macerich had a negative net margin of 18.22% and a negative return on equity of 6.95%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.33 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Macerich Company will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Macerich Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 29th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Macerich’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -95.77%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MAC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Macerich by 73.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,521,554 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $209,692,000 after acquiring an additional 4,868,844 shares during the period. Centersquare Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Macerich by 149.6% in the 4th quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 6,354,661 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $117,307,000 after acquiring an additional 3,808,336 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Macerich in the 4th quarter valued at about $66,924,000. Resolution Capital Ltd grew its position in shares of Macerich by 204.0% in the 1st quarter. Resolution Capital Ltd now owns 4,384,180 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $82,861,000 after acquiring an additional 2,941,909 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Macerich by 139.8% in the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 2,142,737 shares during the period. 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.