Short Interest in Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (NYSE:ARE) Expands By 24.9%

Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (NYSE:ARE) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,360,000 shares, an increase of 24.9% from the January 31st total of 2,690,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,350,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Alexandria Real Estate Equities during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities by 57.7% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 298 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC grew its holdings in shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities by 514.3% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 301 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Alexandria Real Estate Equities by 144.0% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 305 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.54% of the company’s stock.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities Price Performance

Alexandria Real Estate Equities stock traded up $0.97 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $100.77. The stock had a trading volume of 304,581 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,030,119. Alexandria Real Estate Equities has a one year low of $93.25 and a one year high of $130.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 1.16. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $98.03 and its 200 day moving average is $108.06.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities (NYSE:ARE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $1.48. Alexandria Real Estate Equities had a return on equity of 1.43% and a net margin of 10.36%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Alexandria Real Estate Equities will post 9.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $1.32 per share. This represents a $5.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.24%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Alexandria Real Estate Equities’s payout ratio is currently 293.33%.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, December 9th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the real estate investment trust to buy up to 2.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Alexandria Real Estate Equities from $125.00 to $114.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $112.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $133.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $121.30.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities Company Profile

Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc (NYSE: ARE), an S&P 500 company, is a best-in-class, mission-driven life science REIT making a positive and lasting impact on the world. As the pioneer of the life science real estate niche since our founding in 1994, Alexandria is the preeminent and longest-tenured owner, operator, and developer of collaborative life science, agtech, and advanced technology mega campuses in AAA innovation cluster locations, including Greater Boston, the San Francisco Bay Area, New York City, San Diego, Seattle, Maryland, and Research Triangle.