UPDATE: BMO Capital Markets Initiates Macerich with Market Perform on Currently Executing Portfolio Upgrades

In a report published Thursday, BMO Capital Markets analyst Paul E. Adornato initiated coverage on Macerich Co.

with a Market Perform rating and $68.00 price target. In the report, Adornato noted, “We're initiating coverage of Macerich Company, a major owner of Class ‘A' malls in the USA, with a Market Perform rating and a $68 price target. The company is currently executing a multi-year portfolio upgrade, accelerating this process in recent quarters with $2 billion in transactions and another $1 billion or so to come (within an enterprise value of $15 billion). We are attracted to the higher quality of the contemplated portfolio including management's goal of deriving over 90% of NOI from class ‘A' super regional malls in gateway markets. That said, we prefer to wait and see how the details continue to unfold before becoming more constructive on the stock. Moreover, year to date, Macerich has outperformed its closest peers by 700-bp, solidifying our position on the sidelines for now.” Macerich Co. closed on Wednesday at $66.64.