Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) Stock Rating Upgraded by Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Thursday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $198.00 price objective on the real estate investment trust’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $179.00.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on SPG. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Simon Property Group from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Simon Property Group in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $195.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com cut Simon Property Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Simon Property Group from $158.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $159.00 price target (up previously from $157.50) on shares of Simon Property Group in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Simon Property Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $172.10.

Simon Property Group Stock Performance

Shares of SPG stock opened at $176.07 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $57.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.44, a PEG ratio of 10.50 and a beta of 1.75. The business has a 50 day moving average of $177.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $165.93. Simon Property Group has a 52 week low of $135.15 and a 52 week high of $186.00. The company has a quick ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.20.

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by ($1.54). Simon Property Group had a net margin of 43.36% and a return on equity of 76.21%. The company had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.20 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Simon Property Group will post 12.76 EPS for the current year.

Simon Property Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.77%. This is a boost from Simon Property Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. Simon Property Group’s payout ratio is currently 111.85%.

Insider Activity at Simon Property Group

In related news, Director Reuben S. Leibowitz bought 465 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $168.59 per share, with a total value of $78,394.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 55,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,427,384.21. This trade represents a 0.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 8.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Simon Property Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SPG. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Simon Property Group during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Simon Property Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC acquired a new position in Simon Property Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in Simon Property Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Simon Property Group in the third quarter valued at $52,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.01% of the company’s stock.

About Simon Property Group

Simon Property Group, Inc (NYSE:SPG) is a self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT). Simon Property Group, L.P., or the Operating Partnership, is our majority-owned partnership subsidiary that owns all of our real estate properties and other assets. In this package, the terms Simon, we, our, or the Company refer to Simon Property Group, Inc, the Operating Partnership, and its subsidiaries.