Macerich (NYSE:MAC) Now Covered by Truist Financial

Stock analysts at Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Macerich (NYSE:MAC) in a report issued on Friday, MarketBeat reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $26.00 price target on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Truist Financial’s price target indicates a potential upside of 13.46% from the company’s current price.

MAC has been the topic of several other reports. Weiss Ratings raised Macerich from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Macerich from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Wall Street Zen raised Macerich from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Macerich from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $26.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, Compass Point reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $26.00 price target (up from $23.00) on shares of Macerich in a research report on Friday, June 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Macerich currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $26.33.

Macerich Price Performance

NYSE MAC traded up $0.38 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $22.92. 1,384,319 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,922,877. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.00. Macerich has a 1 year low of $16.03 and a 1 year high of $26.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $6.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -35.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 2.10.

Macerich (NYSE:MAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.10) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by ($0.05). Macerich had a negative return on equity of 6.26% and a negative net margin of 16.85%.The company had revenue of $249.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $239.77 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.33 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Macerich will post 1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Macerich news, CAO Christopher Zecchini sold 2,740 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.28, for a total value of $63,787.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,718.16. This represents a 76.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Macerich

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Macerich during the second quarter worth approximately $1,378,836,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in Macerich in the second quarter valued at $138,928,000. Bamco Inc. NY bought a new stake in shares of Macerich in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $125,944,000. Centersquare Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Macerich by 149.6% during the fourth quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 6,354,661 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $117,307,000 after purchasing an additional 3,808,336 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Macerich during the fourth quarter worth $66,924,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.38% of the company’s stock.

About Macerich

Macerich (NYSE: MAC) is a self-managed real estate investment trust that owns, operates and develops retail and mixed-use properties in the United States. The company’s portfolio is primarily composed of regional town centers and shopping malls located in major metropolitan areas and attractive growth markets.

Macerich’s properties provide space for a broad range of retailers, restaurants, entertainment venues and service businesses. In addition to managing its shopping centers, the company focuses on leasing, property redevelopment and creating mixed-use destinations that can include residential, office, hotel and other complementary uses.

Founded in 1964, Macerich has grown through the acquisition, development and redevelopment of retail real estate.