Near a 10-Year Low, Is Macerich Stock a Buy?

If you look at the past 12 months, mall real estate investment trust (REIT) Macerich's (NYSE: MAC) stock is up 120%, roughly four times the gain of the S&P 500 Index and the broader REIT sector over that time frame. That's impressive. But if you go back to 2015 or so, the shares are down by more than 75%. What's going on, and is there still a long-term opportunity for investors here?

Macerich actually owns a very well-positioned collection of 45 malls. They are near large and wealthy population centers, and produce strong sales for tenants. In the third quarter, their average rent per square foot was $62.58, nearly $9 per square foot more than industry bellwether Simon Property Group's (NYSE: SPG) $53.91. There are differences between the types of assets the two companies own -- Simon's 200-mall portfolio is much larger and more diversified. However, the sales per square foot metric makes it clear that Macerich is no fly-by-night operator.

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Source Fool.com