VELA Investment Management LLC Cuts Stake in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG)

VELA Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) by 59.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,734 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,500 shares during the quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Simon Property Group were worth $263,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Clearstead Trust LLC bought a new position in shares of Simon Property Group during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Simon Property Group during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Simon Property Group in the first quarter worth about $26,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Simon Property Group by 3,200.0% in the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 198 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the period. Finally, RFP Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Simon Property Group by 727.3% in the 2nd quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 182 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. 93.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Simon Property Group Stock Performance

Shares of SPG opened at $164.18 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $155.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $151.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.53, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 2.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.51 billion, a PE ratio of 20.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.17 and a beta of 1.75. Simon Property Group, Inc. has a one year low of $102.11 and a one year high of $169.18.

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.93 by ($1.42). The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.30 billion. Simon Property Group had a net margin of 45.90% and a return on equity of 78.14%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.88 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Simon Property Group, Inc. will post 12.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Simon Property Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be given a $2.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. This is an increase from Simon Property Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.00. This represents a $8.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.99%. Simon Property Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 104.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Simon Property Group news, Director Reuben S. Leibowitz acquired 486 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 28th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $150.17 per share, with a total value of $72,982.62. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 55,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,259,500.17. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 8.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Simon Property Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Argus increased their target price on shares of Simon Property Group from $157.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $175.00 target price (down from $190.00) on shares of Simon Property Group in a research note on Tuesday. Scotiabank upped their price target on Simon Property Group from $152.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on Simon Property Group from $155.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Simon Property Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $161.28.

Simon Property Group Profile

Simon is a real estate investment trust engaged in the ownership of premier shopping, dining, entertainment and mixed-use destinations and an S&P 100 company (Simon Property Group, NYSE: SPG). Our properties across North America, Europe and Asia provide community gathering places for millions of people every day and generate billions in annual sales.