Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) Upgraded at Jefferies Financial Group

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

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Simon Property Group in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $195.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Simon Property Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Simon Property Group from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $160.00 to $172.00 in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Simon Property Group from $158.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $159.00 price target (up from $157.50) on shares of Simon Property Group in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $172.10.

Simon Property Group Price Performance

Simon Property Group stock opened at $176.07 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.20, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 2.00. The company has a market cap of $57.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.44, a PEG ratio of 10.50 and a beta of 1.75. Simon Property Group has a 1 year low of $135.15 and a 1 year high of $186.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $177.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $165.93.

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

Simon Property Group Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Simon Property Group

In related news, Director Reuben S. Leibowitz purchased 465 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $168.59 per share, with a total value of $78,394.35. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 55,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,427,384.21. The trade was a 0.84 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 8.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SPG. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Simon Property Group during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Simon Property Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC bought a new position in Simon Property Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of Simon Property Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Simon Property Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $52,000. 93.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.