Macerich’s Strategic Path Forward: Balancing Growth and Market Uncertainties

Bank of America Securities analyst Jeffrey Spector has reiterated their neutral stance on MAC stock, giving a Hold rating on May 23.

Jeffrey Spector has given his Hold rating due to a combination of factors related to Macerich’s strategic initiatives and market conditions. Macerich’s updated Path Forward plan outlines a roadmap to achieve a midpoint FFO of $1.81 by 2028, which aligns closely with Bank of America’s estimate. While this suggests progress, the achievement of these targets heavily relies on the company’s ability to accelerate NOI growth through strategic leasing and redevelopment projects.
Despite being ahead of its leasing plan, Macerich’s future success is sensitive to the pace of leasing and tenant demand, which could impact NOI growth. Additionally, the company’s goal to reduce leverage to the low-mid 6x range by 2028 is promising, but macroeconomic uncertainties, such as consumer health and interest rate environments, pose risks. Therefore, given these uncertainties and the potential variability in outcomes, Spector maintains a Neutral rating for Macerich.

In another report released on May 23, Piper Sandler also upgraded the stock to a Hold with a $16.00 price target.

MAC’s price has also changed moderately for the past six months – from $21.210 to $16.190, which is a -23.67% drop .