Stevens Capital Management LP Sells 12,075 Shares of Simon Property Group, Inc. $SPG

Key Points

• Stevens Capital Management cut its stake in Simon Property Group by 55.8%, selling 12,075 shares in Q4 and finishing the period with 9,549 shares worth $1.768 million.
• Simon beat earnings estimates with $3.49 EPS and 13.2% revenue growth for the quarter, and its board authorized a $2.0 billion share repurchase program (about 3.1% of outstanding shares).
• Institutional investors own roughly 93.0% of SPG, and analysts' consensus is "Hold" with a $200.14 price target while the stock trades near $202.

Stevens Capital Management LP trimmed its position in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG - Free Report) by 55.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,549 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 12,075 shares during the quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP's holdings in Simon Property Group were worth $1,768,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SPG. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Simon Property Group by 634.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,370,089 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,383,145,000 after buying an additional 6,366,711 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Simon Property Group by 45.0% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 8,384,133 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,573,450,000 after acquiring an additional 2,600,508 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Simon Property Group by 1.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,683,502 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $8,761,093,000 after acquiring an additional 844,190 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its position in Simon Property Group by 78.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,103,843 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $207,158,000 after purchasing an additional 486,967 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Simon Property Group by 93.2% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 680,102 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $126,336,000 after purchasing an additional 328,116 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.01% of the company's stock.

Simon Property Group Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of SPG opened at $202.34 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.42, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company has a market cap of $65.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.27, a PEG ratio of 6.63 and a beta of 1.33. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $195.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $188.79. Simon Property Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $155.44 and a 52-week high of $208.28.

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 2nd. The real estate investment trust reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.68 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Simon Property Group, Inc. will post 13.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Simon Property Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the real estate investment trust to reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Simon Property Group from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Simon Property Group from $198.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Scotiabank raised their target price on Simon Property Group from $189.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Barclays boosted their price target on Simon Property Group from $193.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Simon Property Group from $185.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Simon Property Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $200.14.

Simon Property Group 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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