Critical Survey: Macerich (MAC) & The Competition

Macerich (NYSE:MAC) is one of 24 publicly-traded companies in the “REIT – EQTY TRUST – RETAIL” industry, but how does it compare to its competitors? We will compare Macerich to similar companies based on the strength of its institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, dividends and profitability.

Dividends

Macerich pays an annual dividend of $0.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. Macerich pays out -88.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “REIT – EQTY TRUST – RETAIL” companies pay a dividend yield of 3.4% and pay out 113.3% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Macerich is clearly a better dividend stock than its competitors, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Macerich and its competitors, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Macerich	3	5	6	0	2.21
Macerich Competitors	375	2183	2321	85	2.43

Macerich currently has a consensus target price of $20.46, indicating a potential upside of 7.33%. As a group, “REIT – EQTY TRUST – RETAIL” companies have a potential upside of 7.80%. Given Macerich’s competitors stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Macerich has less favorable growth aspects than its competitors.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Macerich and its competitors revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Macerich	$1.01 billion	-$197.15 million	-24.76
Macerich Competitors	$1.57 billion	$468.16 million	34.44

Macerich’s competitors have higher revenue and earnings than Macerich. Macerich is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Profitability

This table compares Macerich and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Macerich	-19.44%	-7.32%	-2.25%
Macerich Competitors	30.04%	11.28%	4.19%

Volatility & Risk

Macerich has a beta of 2.17, indicating that its share price is 117% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Macerich’s competitors have a beta of 0.94, indicating that their average share price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

87.4% of Macerich shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 85.3% of shares of all “REIT – EQTY TRUST – RETAIL” companies are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of Macerich shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 9.3% of shares of all “REIT – EQTY TRUST – RETAIL” companies are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Macerich competitors beat Macerich on 11 of the 15 factors compared.

Macerich Company Profile

Macerich is a fully integrated, self-managed and self-administered real estate investment trust (REIT). As a leading owner, operator and developer of high-quality retail real estate in densely populated and attractive U.S. markets, Macerich’s portfolio is concentrated in California, the Pacific Northwest, Phoenix/Scottsdale, and the Metro New York to Washington, D.C. corridor. Developing and managing properties that serve as community cornerstones, Macerich currently owns 47 million square feet of real estate consisting primarily of interests in 44 regional town centers. Macerich is firmly dedicated to advancing environmental goals, social good and sound corporate governance. A recognized leader in sustainability, Macerich has achieved a #1 Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) ranking for the North American retail sector for nine consecutive years (2015-2023).