Healthcare Realty Trust (NYSE:HR) Earns “Outperform” Rating from Wedbush

Wedbush reiterated their outperform rating on shares of Healthcare Realty Trust (NYSE:HR) in a research note published on Thursday,RTT News reports. The brokerage currently has a $16.00 target price on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

HR has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Healthcare Realty Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $19.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Healthcare Realty Trust from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $19.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, December 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.40.

Healthcare Realty Trust Price Performance

Healthcare Realty Trust stock opened at $16.60 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $16.67 and a 200-day moving average of $17.41. Healthcare Realty Trust has a 52-week low of $12.77 and a 52-week high of $18.90.

Healthcare Realty Trust (NYSE:HR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $309.77 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $303.81 million. Healthcare Realty Trust had a negative return on equity of 11.20% and a negative net margin of 51.60%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.39 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Healthcare Realty Trust will post 1.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Healthcare Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.47%. Healthcare Realty Trust’s payout ratio is currently -69.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Healthcare Realty Trust

In related news, COO Robert E. Hull sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.48, for a total transaction of $174,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 171,400 shares in the company, valued at $2,996,072. The trade was a 5.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Healthcare Realty Trust

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Healthcare Realty Trust by 59.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,650 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 612 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Healthcare Realty Trust by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 11,530 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $195,000 after purchasing an additional 706 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Healthcare Realty Trust by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 16,581 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $281,000 after purchasing an additional 756 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in Healthcare Realty Trust by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 70,776 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,200,000 after acquiring an additional 786 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its position in Healthcare Realty Trust by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 20,193 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $342,000 after buying an additional 793 shares during the last quarter.

About Healthcare Realty Trust

Healthcare Realty Trust, Inc provides real estate investment services. It owns, leases, manages, acquires, finances, develops, and redevelops income-producing real estate properties associated primarily with the delivery of outpatient healthcare services throughout the United States of America. The company was founded by David R.