Macerich Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:MAC)

The Macerich Company (NYSE:MAC) was the target of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors bought 2,237 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 263% compared to the average daily volume of 616 put options.

Macerich Price Performance

Shares of Macerich stock opened at $17.39 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.39 billion, a PE ratio of 44.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 2.62. Macerich has a twelve month low of $12.99 and a twelve month high of $22.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $19.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.16.

Macerich Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were paid a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. Macerich’s dividend payout ratio is presently -86.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MAC has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Macerich from $22.00 to $18.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Mizuho raised Macerich from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $14.00 to $22.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Macerich from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Macerich from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $20.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Macerich from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $19.00 to $23.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.49.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Andrea M. Stephen sold 63,289 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.59, for a total transaction of $1,303,120.51. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 83,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,718,832.61. This trade represents a 43.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Macerich

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in Macerich by 32.3% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 359,069 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,549,000 after buying an additional 87,611 shares during the period. Bamco Inc. NY lifted its holdings in Macerich by 742.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 1,695,420 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,924,000 after buying an additional 1,494,145 shares during the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in Macerich in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $771,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Macerich by 314.2% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,467 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 2,630 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Macerich by 20.4% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 44,843 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $893,000 after purchasing an additional 7,608 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.38% of the company’s stock.

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, DC corridor.