CareTrust REIT (NASDAQ:CTRE) Cut to “Underperform” at Wedbush

Wedbush cut shares of CareTrust REIT (NASDAQ:CTRE) from a neutral rating to an underperform rating in a research report report published on Thursday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $26.00 price objective on the real estate investment trust’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $34.00.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on CTRE. Wells Fargo & Company raised CareTrust REIT from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $28.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of CareTrust REIT from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $34.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of CareTrust REIT from $27.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.67.

CareTrust REIT Stock Performance

CTRE opened at $26.74 on Thursday. CareTrust REIT has a twelve month low of $20.10 and a twelve month high of $33.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.58 billion, a PE ratio of 37.14, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 7.60, a quick ratio of 7.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $29.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.75.

CareTrust REIT (NASDAQ:CTRE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.08). CareTrust REIT had a return on equity of 5.32% and a net margin of 36.88%. The company had revenue of $77.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $74.12 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.35 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that CareTrust REIT will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CareTrust REIT Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.34%. CareTrust REIT’s payout ratio is currently 161.11%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CareTrust REIT

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of CareTrust REIT during the second quarter worth $27,000. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in CareTrust REIT during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in CareTrust REIT by 178.3% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,205 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 772 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in CareTrust REIT during the second quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in CareTrust REIT by 98.8% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,495 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 743 shares during the period. 87.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CareTrust REIT Company Profile

CareTrust REIT, Inc’s (CareTrust REIT or the Company) primary business consists of acquiring, financing, developing and owning real property to be leased to third-party tenants in the healthcare sector. As of March 31, 2024, the Company owned directly or through a joint venture and leased to independent operators, 228 skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), multi-service campuses, assisted living facilities (ALFs) and independent living facilities (ILFs) consisting of 24,189 operational beds and units located in 29 states with the highest concentration of properties by rental income located in California and Texas.