Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the nine research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $149.89.

SPG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Simon Property Group from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Argus boosted their price objective on Simon Property Group from $157.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Simon Property Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th.

Simon Property Group Stock Performance

NYSE:SPG opened at $157.74 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $149.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $147.53. Simon Property Group has a 52-week low of $102.11 and a 52-week high of $158.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.20, a quick ratio of 2.19 and a current ratio of 2.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.41 billion, a PE ratio of 20.09, a P/E/G ratio of 9.12 and a beta of 1.75.

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.80 by ($0.55). Simon Property Group had a net margin of 46.49% and a return on equity of 78.50%. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.74 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Simon Property Group will post 12.84 EPS for the current year.

Simon Property Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were given a $2.00 dividend. This is an increase from Simon Property Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.95. This represents a $8.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.07%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. Simon Property Group’s payout ratio is currently 101.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Reuben S. Leibowitz bought 486 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $150.17 per share, for a total transaction of $72,982.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 55,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,259,500.17. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 8.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Simon Property Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SPG. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Simon Property Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,000. Diversified Trust Co bought a new stake in Simon Property Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $670,000. Dfpg Investments LLC bought a new stake in Simon Property Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $533,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Simon Property Group by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 152,740 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $21,923,000 after acquiring an additional 6,703 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Simon Property Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $238,000. 93.01% of the stock is owned by 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.