Macerich (NYSE:MAC) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Compass Point

Macerich (NYSE:MAC) was downgraded by stock analysts at Compass Point from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on MAC. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Macerich from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Macerich from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Mizuho lifted their target price on Macerich from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Evercore set a $22.00 price target on Macerich in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Macerich from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $23.00 to $25.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.00.

Macerich Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MAC opened at $25.81 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.32 billion, a PE ratio of -36.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 2.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. Macerich has a twelve month low of $15.88 and a twelve month high of $25.97. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.35.

Macerich (NYSE:MAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.34 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 business had revenue of $241.54 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $233.06 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.33 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Macerich will post 1.48 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Macerich

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MAC. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Macerich by 76.8% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,347 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 585 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Macerich by 366.2% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,394 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,095 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Macerich by 80.4% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,535 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 684 shares in the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Macerich during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its holdings in Macerich by 156.6% during the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 2,189 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 1,336 shares in the last quarter. 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.