Stifel Downgrades Simon Property Group To Hold After Strong Rally

Stifel downgraded Simon Property Group Inc. (NYSE:SPG) to Hold from Buy, setting a $179 price target, after shares rallied strongly in recent months.

The analysts said the stock was already trading above their target, which implied a 6% cap rate. They noted that mall REITs had outperformed the RMS index this year (+6.6% vs. +3.5%), with Simon outperforming peers at +7.6%. Since bottoming in early April, Simon shares had gained 32.5%, compared with a 17.1% rise in the RMS index.

Stifel said the downgrade was not due to a change in fundamentals but reflected limited upside after the recent rally. The firm had upgraded the stock in April following a sharp sell-off, viewing the pullback as overdone at the time.