Simon Property Group Earnings Preview: Analysts Expect Higher EPS, Revenue - American Assets Trust (NYSE:AAT)

Simon Property Group SPG unveils its next round of earnings this Tuesday, October 25, 2011. Here is Benzinga's everything-that-matters guide for this Tuesday's third quarter earnings announcement.

Earnings and Revenue:

Ahead of the company's earnings announcement, analysts are expecting a positive EPS reading of $1.67/share and revenues of $1.03 billion. Simon Property Group's latest numbers will no doubt be compared with the company's year-ago quarter, when it reported a profit of $1.04/share on revenues of $979.3 million. We'll have to wait for Tuesday to see if Simon Property Group has accomplished the estimated 60.6% rise in EPS and 5.2% increase in revenues on a year-over-year basis.

Here's how the company's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Quarter	Q2	Q1	Q4	Q3
EPS Estimate	$1.58	$1.54	$1.74	$0.92
EPS Actual	$1.65	$1.61	$1.80	$1.04

Stock Performance:

Shares of Simon Property Group were trading at $115.56 as of October 19, 2011. Since January 1st, shares of Simon Property Group have given investors a return of 18.7%. For a full 12 months, the return has risen by 23%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders are probably satisfied going into this earnings release.

Long-term shareholders are already enjoying 12-month gains prior to the announcement

Average Stock Rating:

The average rating by analysts for Simon Property Group is a Moderate Buy. The strength of this rating has declined slightly over the past three months.

Competitors:

Wondering how some of the other financials companies are doing? Here are a few of Simon Property Group's peers in that sector.

American Assets Trust AAT: Moderate Buy with a $0.26 recent quarter EPS
Developers Diversified Realty DDR: Moderate Buy with a $0.23 recent quarter EPS
General Growth Properties GGP: Hold with a $0.20 recent quarter EPS
Glimcher Realty GRT: Moderate Buy with a $0.14 recent quarter EPS

Simon Property Group is in the REIT-equity trust industry, which has experienced price/earnings growth of 2.7%.

Finally, a description of the company's main areas of operation: Simon Property Group operates as a real estate investment trust that owns, develops and manages retail real estate properties.

Take Action:

Now that you have reviewed all the numbers, be ready to move if the upcoming Simon Property Group earnings report has any surprises. Also, come back to Benzinga after the announcement for a full recap and a guide to your next steps.

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