Macerich (NYSE:MAC) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Shares of The Macerich Company (NYSE:MAC) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Friday . Approximately 5,026,377 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 172% from the previous session’s volume of 1,846,414 shares.The stock last traded at $21.21 and had previously closed at $21.15.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MAC. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Macerich from $11.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Compass Point raised their price objective on shares of Macerich from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Macerich from $13.00 to $14.60 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Macerich from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Macerich from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Macerich has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $16.40.

Macerich Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.78 billion, a PE ratio of 54.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 2.50. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $18.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

Macerich (NYSE:MAC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.50) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.90). The firm had revenue of $220.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the business posted $0.44 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Macerich Company will post 1.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Macerich Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. Macerich’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 174.36%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Macerich

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of MAC. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its position in Macerich by 158.1% in the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 131,487 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,201,000 after buying an additional 80,541 shares during the last quarter. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Macerich by 297.7% in the second quarter. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC now owns 110,560 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,707,000 after acquiring an additional 82,760 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC increased its position in Macerich by 851.9% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 30,529 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $557,000 after acquiring an additional 27,322 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. bought a new position in Macerich in the second quarter valued at about $10,625,000. Finally, Smead Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Macerich by 3.5% in the third quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 20,433,449 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $372,706,000 after purchasing an additional 688,790 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.