Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) Price Target Raised to $157.50

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) had its price target boosted by Stifel Nicolaus from $152.00 to $157.50 in a research note published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Simon Property Group from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an in-line rating in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com raised shares of Simon Property Group from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Simon Property Group from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Finally, Argus increased their price target on shares of Simon Property Group from $157.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $153.50.

Simon Property Group Stock Performance

NYSE:SPG opened at $155.16 on Tuesday. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $150.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $148.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.57 billion, a PE ratio of 19.77, a P/E/G ratio of 8.78 and a beta of 1.75. Simon Property Group has a fifty-two week low of $102.11 and a fifty-two week high of $158.50.

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.93 by ($1.42). Simon Property Group had a return on equity of 78.50% and a net margin of 46.49%. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.88 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Simon Property Group will post 12.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Simon Property Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th will be issued a $2.05 dividend. This is a boost from Simon Property Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.00. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.28%. Simon Property Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.91%.

Insider Activity at Simon Property Group

In other news, Director Reuben S. Leibowitz bought 486 shares of Simon Property Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 28th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $150.17 per share, with a total value of $72,982.62. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 55,001 shares in the company, valued at $8,259,500.17. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 8.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Simon Property Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Clearstead Trust LLC purchased a new position in shares of Simon Property Group during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Simon Property Group during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Simon Property Group during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Simon Property Group during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Simon Property Group during the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.01% of the company’s stock.

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.