Insider Buying: The Macerich Company (NYSE:MAC) Insider Acquires 4,865 Shares of Stock

The Macerich Company (NYSE:MAC) insider Ann C. Menard bought 4,865 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $15.40 per share, for a total transaction of $74,921.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 20,633 shares in the company, valued at $317,748.20. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Macerich Stock Performance

Macerich stock traded up $0.59 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $15.84. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,300,174 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,039,245. The Macerich Company has a 12-month low of $9.05 and a 12-month high of $17.69. The company has a market capitalization of $3.42 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.77, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 2.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $15.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $14.75.

Macerich (NYSE:MAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.26). Macerich had a negative net margin of 38.96% and a negative return on equity of 13.42%. The business had revenue of $238.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $224.49 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.53 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that The Macerich Company will post 1.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Macerich Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.29%. Macerich’s dividend payout ratio is -43.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on MAC shares. Piper Sandler cut shares of Macerich from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $17.00 to $11.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Citigroup raised shares of Macerich from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $8.00 to $17.00 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Compass Point lowered their price target on shares of Macerich from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $16.00 price target on shares of Macerich in a report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Macerich from $17.00 to $14.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Macerich has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $14.83.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Macerich by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 81,330 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,255,000 after purchasing an additional 745 shares during the period. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Macerich by 1.6% in the first quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 60,937 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,050,000 after purchasing an additional 978 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Macerich by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 13,666 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $211,000 after purchasing an additional 1,040 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Macerich by 4.3% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 25,312 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 1,049 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Macerich by 0.3% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 425,415 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,330,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the period. 87.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Macerich Company Profile

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, DC corridor.