Macerich (NYSE:MAC) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Macerich Company (The) (NYSE:MAC) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $25.80 and last traded at $25.6230, with a volume of 254791 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.41.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on MAC shares. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Macerich from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Macerich from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised their target price on shares of Macerich from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Macerich from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Macerich from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $23.00 to $25.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.92.

Macerich Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $22.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.25 billion, a PE ratio of -36.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 2.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Macerich (NYSE:MAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.03. Macerich had a negative return on equity of 6.95% and a negative net margin of 18.22%.The firm had revenue of $241.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $233.06 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.33 earnings per share. Macerich’s revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Macerich Company will post 1.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Macerich Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Macerich’s dividend payout ratio is presently -95.77%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Macerich

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Macerich by 2.4% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,162,075 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $245,322,000 after purchasing an additional 351,907 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Macerich by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 13,555,892 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $250,242,000 after buying an additional 2,034,338 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Macerich by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,608,318 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $122,008,000 after buying an additional 70,132 shares in the last quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Macerich by 149.6% in the 4th quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 6,354,661 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $117,307,000 after acquiring an additional 3,808,336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Macerich by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,039,561 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $93,030,000 after acquiring an additional 123,769 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.38% of the company’s stock.

Macerich Company Profile

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.