Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $529.19 Million Stock Position in Simon Property Group, Inc. $SPG

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group increased its stake in Simon Property Group by 0.8% to 2,858,805 shares, representing about $529.19 million or roughly 0.88% of the company per its latest 13F filing.
• Simon Property's Board approved a $2.00 billion share repurchase program (up to 3.1% of outstanding shares), a move that typically signals management believes the stock is undervalued.
• Analysts' consensus is a Hold with a $200.14 average price target; the company recently beat Q4 EPS estimates and reported revenue growth of 13.2% year‑over‑year.

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG - Free Report) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,858,805 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 21,521 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.88% of Simon Property Group worth $529,194,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SPG. Embree Financial Group grew its stake in shares of Simon Property Group by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Embree Financial Group now owns 2,414 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $447,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. O ROURKE & COMPANY Inc grew its stake in shares of Simon Property Group by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. O ROURKE & COMPANY Inc now owns 2,124 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $393,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC grew its stake in shares of Simon Property Group by 25.7% during the third quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 318 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in shares of Simon Property Group by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,582 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Howard Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Simon Property Group by 3.1% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,175 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. 93.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on SPG. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Simon Property Group from $180.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Simon Property Group from $198.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Simon Property Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Simon Property Group from $189.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Mizuho set a $192.00 price objective on Simon Property Group in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Simon Property Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $200.14.

Simon Property Group Stock Down 0.6%

NYSE:SPG opened at $201.24 on Tuesday. Simon Property Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $155.44 and a 1 year high of $208.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.42. The stock has a market cap of $65.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.19, a PEG ratio of 6.66 and a beta of 1.33. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $195.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $188.62.

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 2nd. The real estate investment trust reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.02. Simon Property Group had a return on equity of 124.12% and a net margin of 72.71%.The firm had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.68 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Simon Property Group, Inc. will post 13.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Simon Property Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 5th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the real estate investment trust to repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Simon Property Group Company Profile

Simon Property Group, Inc NYSE: SPG is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, develops and manages retail real estate properties. Its core business activities include acquisition, development, leasing and property management of regional malls, outlet centers and mixed‑use retail destinations. The company operates retail brands that include high‑profile regional shopping centers and the Premium Outlets platform, and it provides services such as tenant leasing, marketing, property operations and capital projects to optimize asset performance.

Simon's portfolio spans a broad mix of enclosed malls, open‑air centers, outlet properties and mixed‑use developments, and the company pursues redevelopment and repositioning to adapt properties to changing consumer and retail trends.

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