Macerich (NYSE:MAC) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

The Macerich Company (NYSE:MAC) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $20.42 and last traded at $20.39, with a volume of 505357 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.72.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on MAC shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Macerich from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Macerich from $11.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Macerich from $13.00 to $14.60 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Macerich from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Compass Point upped their price objective on Macerich from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $16.40.

Macerich Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 2.50. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $18.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.45.

Macerich (NYSE:MAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.50) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.90). The firm had revenue of $220.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $208.54 million. Macerich had a return on equity of 3.15% and a net margin of 8.98%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.44 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that The Macerich Company will post 1.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Macerich Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be given a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 12th. Macerich’s dividend payout ratio is currently 174.36%.

Institutional Trading of Macerich

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Macerich by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 275,731 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,029,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the period. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Macerich by 0.6% during the third quarter. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC now owns 154,082 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,810,000 after acquiring an additional 859 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Macerich by 7.2% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 13,448 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $245,000 after acquiring an additional 902 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake 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. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted 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 purchasing an additional 933 shares during the period. 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.