Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $140.22.

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Simon Property Group from $142.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of Simon Property Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Simon Property Group from $143.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Simon Property Group from $139.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd.

Simon Property Group Stock Performance

Shares of SPG opened at $147.88 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $148.08 and a 200-day moving average of $138.97. The company has a market cap of $48.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.50 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.54, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 1.77. Simon Property Group has a 1 year low of $100.17 and a 1 year high of $157.82.

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80 by ($0.55). Simon Property Group had a net margin of 42.30% and a return on equity of 70.97%. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.74 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Simon Property Group will post 12.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Simon Property Group announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 8th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the real estate investment trust to purchase up to 4.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Simon Property Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a $2.00 dividend. This represents a $8.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.41%. This is a boost from Simon Property Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.95. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. Simon Property Group’s payout ratio is presently 111.75%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SPG. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Simon Property Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,561,181,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Simon Property Group by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,745,198 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $512,624,000 after acquiring an additional 86,778 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Simon Property Group by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,537,655 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $504,611,000 after acquiring an additional 72,645 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Simon Property Group by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,409,189 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $260,265,000 after acquiring an additional 71,751 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners grew its stake in Simon Property Group by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,228,580 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $317,881,000 after acquiring an additional 183,702 shares in the last quarter. 93.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.