Macerich (NYSE:MAC) Upgraded at Morgan Stanley

Macerich (NYSE:MAC) was upgraded by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The firm presently has a $20.00 price objective on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 2.93% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Macerich in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $22.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Macerich from $14.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Mizuho raised shares of Macerich from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $14.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Scotiabank raised Macerich from a “sector underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Macerich from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.30.

Macerich Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of MAC stock opened at $19.43 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.83. Macerich has a 52 week low of $12.99 and a 52 week high of $22.27. The stock has a market cap of $4.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.82, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 2.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68.

Macerich (NYSE:MAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.50) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.90). Macerich had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 3.15%. The business had revenue of $220.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $208.54 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.44 EPS. Macerich’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Macerich will post 1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Macerich news, Director Andrea M. Stephen sold 63,289 shares of Macerich stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.59, for a total transaction of $1,303,120.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 83,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,718,832.61. This trade represents a 43.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Macerich

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MAC. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Macerich by 152.2% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,546 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 933 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Macerich during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Macerich by 40.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,214 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 933 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in Macerich in the 2nd quarter valued at $129,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Macerich by 34.8% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 8,374 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $150,000 after purchasing an additional 2,161 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.