Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) Upgraded to Buy at Jefferies Financial Group

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) was upgraded by Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has a $198.00 price objective on the real estate investment trust’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $179.00. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price suggests a potential upside of 12.46% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also commented on SPG. StockNews.com lowered shares of Simon Property Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Mizuho raised their target price on Simon Property Group from $158.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Evercore ISI raised Simon Property Group from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $160.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Simon Property Group in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $195.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $159.00 target price (up previously from $157.50) on shares of Simon Property Group in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $172.10.

Simon Property Group Stock Performance

Shares of Simon Property Group stock opened at $176.07 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $57.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.44, a P/E/G ratio of 10.50 and a beta of 1.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.20, a current ratio of 2.00 and a quick ratio of 2.00. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $176.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $165.73. Simon Property Group has a fifty-two week low of $135.15 and a fifty-two week high of $186.00.

Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by ($1.54). The firm had revenue of $1.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.32 billion. Simon Property Group had a return on equity of 76.21% and a net margin of 43.36%. Simon Property Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.20 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Simon Property Group will post 12.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Simon Property Group

In related news, Director Reuben S. Leibowitz bought 465 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $168.59 per share, with a total value of $78,394.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 55,919 shares in the company, valued at $9,427,384.21. The trade was a 0.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 8.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Simon Property Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SPG. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Simon Property Group by 617.5% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,191,296 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $539,393,000 after purchasing an additional 2,746,503 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Simon Property Group by 373.6% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,259,648 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $212,906,000 after buying an additional 993,694 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Simon Property Group by 18,764.1% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 892,085 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $150,780,000 after acquiring an additional 887,356 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its position in Simon Property Group by 2,520.3% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 658,191 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $111,247,000 after acquiring an additional 633,072 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its position in shares of Simon Property Group by 295.3% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 655,300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $110,759,000 after purchasing an additional 489,519 shares during the last quarter. 93.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Simon Property Group Company Profile

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.