Macerich (NYSE:MAC) Rating Lowered to Underweight at Piper Sandler

Macerich (NYSE:MAC) was downgraded by research analysts at Piper Sandler from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They presently have a $11.00 price objective on the real estate investment trust’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $17.00. Piper Sandler’s target price would suggest a potential downside of 20.15% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on MAC. StockNews.com lowered shares of Macerich from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased 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. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and set a $16.00 target price on shares of Macerich in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Citigroup raised Macerich from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $8.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $13.20.

Macerich Trading Down 14.0 %

Shares of MAC stock opened at $13.78 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $16.31 and a 200 day moving average of $14.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Macerich has a 1-year low of $9.05 and a 1-year high of $17.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a PE ratio of -10.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 2.33.

Macerich (NYSE:MAC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $224.49 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.53 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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 year.

Insider Activity

In related news, President Edward C. Coppola sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the president now directly owns 655,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,277,472.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Macerich news, Director Edward C. Coppola sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s 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 owns 635,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,812,695.67. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, President Edward C. Coppola sold 50,000 shares of Macerich stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.20, for a total transaction of $860,000.00. Following the transaction, 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. Insiders sold a total of 172,964 shares of company stock worth $2,940,030 in the last quarter. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Macerich by 1,460.3% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 324,502 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,007,000 after purchasing an additional 303,704 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Macerich by 0.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,488,816 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $48,973,000 after acquiring an additional 31,445 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Macerich by 91.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 221,834 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,421,000 after acquiring an additional 105,663 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Macerich by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 579,573 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,323,000 after acquiring an additional 76,888 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its stake in Macerich by 13.2% during the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 69,900 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $763,000 after purchasing an additional 8,145 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.38% of the company’s stock.

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.