Dj Macerich May Sell Up To $500M Of Stock From Time To Time

Macerich MAC reported funds from operations (FFO) per share, excluding financing expenses in connection with Chandler Freehold, accrued default interest expense and loss on non-real estate investments of 38 cents, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 40 cents. The figure decreased 15.6% from the year-ago quarter’s 45 cents.

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Results reflected higher interest expenses on a year-over-year basis. However, this retail REIT experienced an increase in same-center net operating income (NOI), including lease termination income, from the prior-year period, backed by a higher base rent re-leasing spread.

Quarterly revenues of $220.2 million were higher than the year-ago quarter’s $218.2 million. The figure surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $219.7 million.

Behind MAC’s Headlines

Same-center NOI, including lease termination income, increased 1.9% year over year to $180.8 million.

The portfolio tenant sales per square foot for spaces less than 10,000 square feet for the trailing 12 months ended Sept. 30, 2024, came in at $834 compared with $847 for the same period ended Sept. 30, 2023.

During the reported quarter, Macerich signed leases encompassing 0.83 million square feet. On a comparable center basis, it reflected a 16% year-over-year increase in leased square footage.

As of Sept. 30, 2024, portfolio occupancy was 93.7%, up 40 basis points from 93.3% reported in the prior quarter. Our expectation for the portfolio occupancy was 93.8%.

For the 12 months ended Sept. 30, 2024, base rent re-leasing spreads were 11.9% more than the expiring base rent.

During the reported quarter, interest expenses increased by 7% to $57.1 million.

MAC’s Balance Sheet

As of Nov. 6, 2024, Macerich had around $667 million of liquidity. This included $505 million of available capacity on its $650 million revolving line of credit.

As of Sept. 30, 2024, the company had a total net debt of $6.19 billion and net debt to adjusted EBITDAre of 8.23X.

MAC’s Dividend Update

On Oct. 31, 2024, MAC announced a quarterly cash dividend of 17 cents per share of common stock. The dividend is payable on Dec. 2, 2024 to stockholders of record at the close of business on Nov. 12, 2024

Currently, Macerich carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Macerich Company (The) Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Macerich Company (The) price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Macerich Company (The) Quote

Performance of Other Retail REITs

Simon Property Group, Inc. SPG reported a third-quarter FFO per share of $2.84, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3. However, the figure decreased from $3.20 reported in the year-ago period.

SPG’s results reflected higher interest expenses on a year-over-year basis. However, an increase in revenues, backed by a rise in the base minimum rent per square foot and occupancy levels, supported the results to some extent.

Regency Centers Corporation REG reported a third-quarter 2024 NAREIT FFO per share of $1.07, outpacing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.04. The figure increased 4.9% from the prior-year quarter.

Results reflected healthy leasing activity and a year-over-year improvement in the same property's NOI and base rents. REG raised its 2024 outlook.

Note: Anything related to earnings presented in this write-up represents FFO, a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs.

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