Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) Increases Dividend to $2.00 Per Share

Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, May 6th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a dividend of 2.00 per share by the real estate investment trust on Friday, June 28th. This represents a $8.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.54%. This is a positive change from Simon Property Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.95.

Simon Property Group has raised its dividend by an average of 7.5% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 4 consecutive years. Simon Property Group has a payout ratio of 121.5% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Research analysts expect Simon Property Group to earn $12.43 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $7.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 62.8%.

Simon Property Group Stock Performance

SPG stock traded up $1.51 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $144.44. The company had a trading volume of 1,562,880 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,479,609. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $148.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $138.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.07 billion, a PE ratio of 20.48, a P/E/G ratio of 7.50 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.54. Simon Property Group has a fifty-two week low of $100.17 and a fifty-two week high of $157.82.

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.34 by ($1.05). The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. Simon Property Group had a net margin of 42.30% and a return on equity of 70.97%. Simon Property Group’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.15 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Simon Property Group will post 12.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SPG has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Simon Property Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Simon Property Group from $142.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Simon Property Group from $143.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Simon Property Group from $139.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Simon Property Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.22.

Simon Property Group declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 8th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the real estate investment trust to repurchase up to 4.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

About Simon Property Group

Simon is a real estate investment trust engaged in the ownership of premier shopping, dining, entertainment and mixed-use destinations and an S&P 100 company (Simon Property Group, NYSE: SPG). Our properties across North America, Europe and Asia provide community gathering places for millions of people every day and generate billions in annual sales.