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

StockNews.com cut shares of Macerich (NYSE:MAC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Thursday.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on MAC. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Macerich from $9.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a sell rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Citigroup raised Macerich from a sell rating to a neutral rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $8.00 to $17.00 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Truist Financial reiterated a hold rating and issued a $16.00 price target on shares of Macerich in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Macerich from $12.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, December 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $14.40.

Macerich Trading Down 1.3 %

Macerich stock opened at $15.17 on Thursday. Macerich has a 12-month low of $9.05 and a 12-month high of $17.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $16.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.32.

Macerich (NYSE:MAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $238.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $224.49 million. Macerich had a negative net margin of 31.00% and a negative return on equity of 10.26%. The company’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.53 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Macerich will post 1.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Macerich Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 4th. Investors of record on Friday, February 16th were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.48%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. Macerich’s payout ratio is presently -53.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Edward C. Coppola sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.01, for a total transaction of $340,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 635,667 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,812,695.67. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Macerich news, Director Hern Thomas E. O sold 7,964 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.39, for a total transaction of $130,529.96. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 197,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,243,581. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Edward C. Coppola sold 20,000 shares of Macerich stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.01, for a total transaction of $340,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 635,667 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,812,695.67. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 172,964 shares of company stock valued at $2,940,030 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Macerich

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of MAC. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Macerich by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,478,278 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $532,000,000 after acquiring an additional 336,251 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in shares of Macerich by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 30,909,711 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $327,643,000 after purchasing an additional 224,394 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Macerich by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,327,975 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $161,476,000 after purchasing an additional 855,355 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Macerich by 867.8% in the 2nd quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 8,732,108 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $98,411,000 after buying an additional 7,829,876 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Macerich by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,716,461 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $71,194,000 after buying an additional 203,180 shares during the period. 87.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Macerich

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.