Citigroup Upgrades General Growth Properties to Buy; Raises Price Target to $20

Citigroup upgraded shares of General Growth Properties

from Hold to Buy on Thursday morning. The firm's analysts also raised their price target on the stock from $17 to $20. The upgrade comes after the analysts met with 8 senior executives at the company. They wrote that the meetings "confirmed our view that GGP is on the right path to delivering sold shareholder returns," highlighting several reasons such as retailer demand, improving portfolio quality, and the flattening of the management structure and IT spending. On Thursday, GGP shares are trading near the flatline at just below $17.50. The stock is currently yielding around 2.29% and the company has a market capitalization of $16.38 billion. General Growth Properties operates as a REIT and is an owner and operator of regional malls.