The Macerich Company (NYSE:MAC) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.17

The Macerich Company (NYSE:MAC) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, April 26th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a dividend of 0.17 per share by the real estate investment trust on Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.34%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th.

Macerich has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 24.0% per year over the last three years. Macerich has a payout ratio of -755.6% meaning the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Analysts expect Macerich to earn $1.84 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.68 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 37.0%.

Macerich Price Performance

Shares of MAC traded up $0.29 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $15.67. The stock had a trading volume of 1,111,402 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,413,158. The company’s 50-day moving average is $16.36 and its 200 day moving average is $14.49. Macerich has a 12-month low of $9.05 and a 12-month high of $17.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The company has a market capitalization of $3.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 2.33.

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

Insider Transactions at Macerich

In other news, Director Hern Thomas E. O sold 7,964 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.39, for a total value of $130,529.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 197,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,243,581. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related 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 value of $130,529.96. Following the sale, the director now owns 197,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,243,581. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, President Edward C. Coppola sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $11,277,472.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 172,964 shares of company stock valued at $2,940,030. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MAC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Macerich from $9.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Citigroup raised Macerich from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $8.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. StockNews.com lowered Macerich from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $16.00 target price on shares of Macerich in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.40.

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.