Macerich (MAC) versus The Competition Financial Analysis

Macerich (NYSE:MAC) is one of 24 publicly-traded companies in the “REIT – EQTY TRUST – RETAIL” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its peers? We will compare Macerich to similar businesses based on the strength of its risk, dividends, profitability, valuation, earnings, institutional ownership and analyst recommendations.

Dividends

Macerich pays an annual dividend of $0.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. Macerich pays out -88.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “REIT – EQTY TRUST – RETAIL” companies pay a dividend yield of 3.5% and pay out -1.3% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Macerich is clearly a better dividend stock than its peers, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Macerich and its peers, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Macerich	3	5	6	0	2.21
Macerich Competitors	374	2175	2315	85	2.43

Macerich currently has a consensus price target of $20.46, suggesting a potential upside of 13.08%. As a group, “REIT – EQTY TRUST – RETAIL” companies have a potential upside of 7.49%. Given Macerich’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Macerich is more favorable than its peers.

Risk & Volatility

Macerich has a beta of 2.17, indicating that its share price is 117% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Macerich’s peers have a beta of 0.94, indicating that their average share price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Macerich and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Macerich	-19.44%	-7.32%	-2.25%
Macerich Competitors	30.04%	11.28%	4.19%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Macerich and its peers revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Macerich	$1.01 billion	-$197.15 million	-23.50
Macerich Competitors	$1.57 billion	$468.16 million	34.69

Macerich’s peers have higher revenue and earnings than Macerich. Macerich is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

87.4% of Macerich shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 85.3% of shares of all “REIT – EQTY TRUST – RETAIL” companies are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of Macerich shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 9.3% of shares of all “REIT – EQTY TRUST – RETAIL” companies are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Macerich peers beat Macerich on 10 of the 15 factors compared.

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, D.C. corridor. Developing and managing properties that serve as community cornerstones, Macerich currently owns 47 million square feet of real estate consisting primarily of interests in 44 regional town centers. Macerich is firmly dedicated to advancing environmental goals, social good and sound corporate governance. A recognized leader in sustainability, Macerich has achieved a #1 Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) ranking for the North American retail sector for nine consecutive years (2015-2023).