Stifel Nicolaus Increases Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) Price Target to $157.50

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

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on SPG. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Simon Property Group from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a report on Tuesday. Scotiabank lifted their price objective 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 lifted their price objective on Simon Property Group from $157.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Simon Property Group from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average 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 stock has a market cap of $50.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.77, a PEG ratio of 8.78 and a beta of 1.75. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $150.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $148.31. The company has a current ratio of 2.19, a quick ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.20. Simon Property Group has a 1-year low of $102.11 and a 1-year high of $158.50.

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

Simon Property Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be issued a dividend of $2.05 per share. This represents a $8.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.28%. This is a positive change from Simon Property Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.00. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. Simon Property Group’s dividend payout ratio is 101.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Simon Property Group

In other news, Director Reuben S. Leibowitz acquired 486 shares of Simon Property Group stock in a transaction on Friday, June 28th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $150.17 per share, with a total value of $72,982.62. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now 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 is available through this link. 8.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Simon Property Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Diligent Investors LLC lifted its position in shares of Simon Property Group by 0.5% during the second quarter. Diligent Investors LLC now owns 13,740 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,086,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Simon Property Group by 3.8% in the second quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,859 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $282,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association raised its position in shares of Simon Property Group by 3.7% in the first quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 1,913 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $299,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Simon Property Group by 1.7% in the first quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 4,126 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $646,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position in shares of Simon Property Group by 26.9% in the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 344 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. 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.