VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Trims Stock Position in Macerich Company (The) $MAC

Key Points

• Virginia Retirement Systems ET Al cut its Macerich stake by 22.4% in Q4, selling 162,450 shares and leaving it with 561,783 shares worth about $10.37 million.
• Macerich posted Q1 earnings of $0.34 per share, beating estimates, and revenue of $241.54 million, though sales were down 3.1% year over year and profitability remained negative.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.17 per share payable June 29, while analysts currently rate the stock a Hold with an average price target of $21.15.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al lowered its holdings in shares of Macerich Company (The) (NYSE:MAC - Free Report) by 22.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 561,783 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 162,450 shares during the quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al owned approximately 0.22% of Macerich worth $10,371,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MAC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Macerich by 73.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,521,554 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $209,692,000 after purchasing an additional 4,868,844 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of Macerich by 435.5% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,724,727 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $31,390,000 after acquiring an additional 1,402,627 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Macerich during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $16,268,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Macerich by 376.2% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 906,843 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $15,570,000 after acquiring an additional 716,394 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Macerich by 528.3% during the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 845,964 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $13,688,000 after acquiring an additional 711,316 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.38% of the company's stock.

Macerich Trading Down 1.2%

Macerich stock opened at $21.98 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $5.74 billion, a P/E ratio of -30.95, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 2.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Macerich Company has a 1 year low of $14.82 and a 1 year high of $22.56. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $20.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.99.

Macerich (NYSE:MAC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $241.54 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $233.06 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.33 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Macerich Company will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Macerich Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Macerich's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -95.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp set a $25.00 price objective on Macerich and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Macerich from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Macerich from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Scotiabank upgraded Macerich from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $19.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Macerich from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $21.15.

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.

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