Macerich (NYSE:MAC) Hits New 52-Week High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Macerich hit a new 52‑week high of $21.89, but analysts are mixed — consensus rating is "Hold" with an average target of $20.77 (7 Buy / 3 Hold / 3 Sell).
• The company missed quarterly EPS (‑$0.07 vs. $0.43 expected), reported negative return on equity (‑7.32%) and net margin (‑19.44%), and saw revenue decline 4.4% year‑over‑year.
• Macerich pays a quarterly dividend of $0.17 (annualized $0.68, yield ~3.1%) despite a negative payout ratio (‑88.31%), and institutional investors own ~87.4% of the stock with large recent purchases by firms like Millennium Management.

Macerich Company (The) (NYSE:MAC - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $21.89 and last traded at $21.8320, with a volume of 1348596 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $21.52.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on MAC. Mizuho set a $21.00 target price on Macerich in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley set a $20.00 target price on Macerich in a research note on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Macerich from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. KeyCorp set a $25.00 target price on Macerich and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Macerich from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Macerich currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $20.77.

Macerich Stock Up 1.7%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $19.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.44. The company has a market cap of $5.62 billion, a P/E ratio of -28.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 2.20.

Macerich (NYSE:MAC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.07) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.50). Macerich had a negative return on equity of 7.32% and a negative net margin of 19.44%.The firm had revenue of $261.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $260.48 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.47 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Macerich Company will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Macerich Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th were paid a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. Macerich's payout ratio is currently -88.31%.

Institutional Trading of Macerich

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of Macerich by 20.1% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 77,872 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,338,000 after acquiring an additional 13,018 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Macerich by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 37,808 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $640,000 after acquiring an additional 813 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Macerich by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 148,592 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,551,000 after acquiring an additional 13,782 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Macerich by 376.2% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 906,843 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $15,570,000 after acquiring an additional 716,394 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Macerich by 12.8% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 26,361 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $453,000 after acquiring an additional 2,983 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.38% of the company's stock.

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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