Simon Property Extends Stock Repurchase Program by 2 Years

Simon Property Group, Inc. SPG has announced the extension of its $2 billion stock repurchase program by two years. This move is likely to boost the confidence of the shareholders of this Indianapolis, IN-based retail real estate investment trust (“REIT”).

Since the announcement of this stock repurchase program on Apr 2, 2015, the REIT has purchased around $600 million of shares. The program, which was earlier scheduled to expire on Mar 31, 2017, has been extended to Mar 31, 2019 and the REIT can repurchase the remaining shares worth $1.4 billion either in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions.

In the end of Jan 2017, Simon Property reported fourth-quarter 2016 adjusted funds from operations (“FFO”) of $2.91 per share, up from the year-ago quarter tally of $2.73. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter was $2.51. Growth in operating income aided the results. Also, delighting its shareholders, the company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.75 per share, marking a 6.1% sequential and 9.4% year-over-year increase (read more: Simon Property Q4 FFO & Revenues Top, Dividend Up).

Shares of Simon Property underperformed the Zacks categorized REIT and Equity Trust - Retail industry, over the past three months. During the same time span, shares of the company lost 0.2%, whereas the industry gained 3.8%.

Simon Property currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). In the past 30 days, the company’s 2017 estimates declined 0.9% to $11.59 per share.
 
Some better-ranked stocks in the same space include Cedar Realty Trust, Inc. CDR, EPR Properties EPR and Regency Centers Corporation REG. All these stocks carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Cedar Realty Trust’s 2017 estimates remained unchanged at 58 cents per share, over the past 30 days.

EPR Properties’ 2017 estimates have remained stable at $5.10 per share, over the past 30 days.

Regency Centers’s 2017 estimates moved up 0.3% to $3.46 per share, over the past 30 days.

Note: All EPS numbers presented in this write-up represent funds from operations (“FFO”) per share. FFO, a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs, is obtained after adding depreciation and amortization and other non-cash expenses to net income.

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Simon Property Group, Inc. (SPG): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Regency Centers Corporation (REG): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Cedar Realty Trust, Inc. (CDR): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
EPR Properties (EPR): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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