Macerich (NYSE:MAC) Cut to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Macerich (NYSE:MAC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on MAC. Truist Financial reaffirmed a hold rating and set a $16.00 target price on shares of Macerich in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Citigroup raised Macerich from a sell rating to a neutral rating and raised their target price for the stock from $8.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Macerich from $9.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a sell rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $14.40.

Macerich Stock Down 14.0 %

Shares of MAC opened at $13.78 on Tuesday. Macerich has a 52 week low of $9.05 and a 52 week high of $17.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.85, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 2.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $16.31 and a 200-day moving average of $14.61.

Macerich (NYSE:MAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.26). Macerich had a negative net margin of 31.00% and a negative return on equity of 10.26%. The firm had revenue of $238.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $224.49 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.53 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Macerich will post 1.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Macerich Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.94%. Macerich’s payout ratio is currently -53.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Macerich news, President Edward C. Coppola sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.20, for a total transaction of $860,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 655,667 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,277,472.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Hern Thomas E. O sold 95,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.94, for a total value of $1,609,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 102,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,743,126. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, President Edward C. Coppola sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.20, for a total value of $860,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 655,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,277,472.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 172,964 shares of company stock worth $2,940,030. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Macerich

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MAC. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of Macerich by 152.4% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,166 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 1,308 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Macerich in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Macerich in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Macerich in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Macerich by 51.0% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,409 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 1,826 shares during the period. 87.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Macerich Company Profile

Macerich is a fully integrated, self-managed and self-administered real estate investment trust (REIT). As a leading owner, operator and developer of high-quality retail real estate in densely populated and attractive U.S. markets, Macerich's portfolio is concentrated in California, the Pacific Northwest, Phoenix/Scottsdale, and the Metro New York to Washington, DC corridor.