Macerich (NYSE:MAC) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says

Macerich (NYSE:MAC) had its target price hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $20.00 to $25.00 in a report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 6.22% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the company. Scotiabank upped their price target on Macerich from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Macerich from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Macerich from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Evercore set a $22.00 target price on shares of Macerich in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Macerich from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.92.

Macerich Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MAC traded up $0.54 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $23.54. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 601,696 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,545,353. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.83. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $22.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -33.15, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 2.10. Macerich has a fifty-two week low of $15.48 and a fifty-two week high of $25.72.

Macerich (NYSE:MAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.34 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $241.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $233.06 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.33 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Macerich will post 1.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Macerich

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in Macerich by 76.8% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,347 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 585 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in Macerich by 366.2% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,394 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 1,095 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Macerich by 80.4% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,535 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 684 shares in the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Macerich in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Macerich by 156.6% during the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 2,189 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,336 shares during the period. 87.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Macerich

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.