Macerich Company (The) (NYSE:MAC) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Macerich Company (The) (NYSE:MAC) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totaling 25,563,120 shares, a growth of 96.4% from the June 15th total of 13,015,731 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 6,388,445 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.0 days. Approximately 9.0% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Macerich Price Performance

NYSE:MAC traded up $0.68 on Thursday, reaching $25.85. 1,591,985 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,739,907. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.97. Macerich has a 12 month low of $15.94 and a 12 month high of $25.97. The firm has a market cap of $7.33 billion, a PE ratio of -36.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 2.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96.

Macerich (NYSE:MAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $241.54 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $233.06 million. Macerich had a negative return on equity of 6.95% and a negative net margin of 18.22%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.33 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Macerich will post 1.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Macerich Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Macerich’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -95.77%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Macerich

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on MAC. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Macerich from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Macerich from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Macerich from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Compass Point reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $26.00 price target (up from $23.00) on shares of Macerich in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Macerich from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Macerich presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.14.

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.