Retirement Systems of Alabama Trims Stock Position in Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG)

Retirement Systems of Alabama cut its stake in shares of Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) by 14.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 487,829 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 81,479 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Simon Property Group were worth $69,584,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SPG. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Simon Property Group during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. DT Investment Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Simon Property Group by 714.3% during the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 228 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Selway Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Simon Property Group during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Simon Property Group during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in shares of Simon Property Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 93.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Simon Property Group Stock Down 0.3 %

SPG traded down $0.37 during trading on Friday, hitting $142.36. The stock had a trading volume of 1,026,159 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,112,382. The company has a market capitalization of $46.40 billion, a PE ratio of 20.40, a PEG ratio of 7.47 and a beta of 1.65. Simon Property Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $100.17 and a twelve month high of $157.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.54, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 1.77. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $149.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $137.02.

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.34 by ($1.05). The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.38 billion. Simon Property Group had a net margin of 42.30% and a return on equity of 70.97%. Simon Property Group’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.15 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Simon Property Group, Inc. will post 12.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Simon Property Group announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 8th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the real estate investment trust to purchase up to 4.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Simon Property Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $1.95 dividend. This represents a $7.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.48%. This is an increase from Simon Property Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.90. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. Simon Property Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 111.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on SPG shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Simon Property Group from $143.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Simon Property Group from $142.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Simon Property Group from $139.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Simon Property Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Simon Property Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.22.

Simon Property Group Profile

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.