Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,200,000 shares, a growth of 23.8% from the February 28th total of 4,200,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,530,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.4 days. Approximately 1.6% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on SPG. StockNews.com cut shares of Simon Property Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Simon Property Group in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $195.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Simon Property Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $179.00 to $198.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Piper Sandler raised shares of Simon Property Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $175.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Scotiabank set a $186.00 target price on shares of Simon Property Group in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $180.33.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Simon Property Group

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pitcairn Co. boosted its holdings in Simon Property Group by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 9,895 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,704,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its position in shares of Simon Property Group by 37.5% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 209 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Simon Property Group by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,689 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Simon Property Group by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 655 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $113,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in Simon Property Group by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 3,396 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $626,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.01% of the company’s stock.

Simon Property Group Trading Up 2.5 %

NYSE SPG opened at $170.58 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.50, a PEG ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.19, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 1.28. Simon Property Group has a one year low of $139.25 and a one year high of $190.14. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $175.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $174.53.

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $1.70. Simon Property Group had a net margin of 41.49% and a return on equity of 74.02%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Simon Property Group will post 12.54 EPS for the current year.

Simon Property Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.92%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Simon Property Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 115.70%.

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.