Short Interest in UDR, Inc. (NYSE:UDR) Drops By 20.0%

UDR, Inc. (NYSE:UDR) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,590,000 shares, a decrease of 20.0% from the March 15th total of 6,990,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,180,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days. Approximately 1.8% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Activity

In other UDR news, CEO Thomas W. Toomey sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total value of $1,068,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 824,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,256,609. This represents a 2.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.39% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UDR

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Spirit of America Management Corp NY grew its stake in shares of UDR by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 46,100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,082,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in shares of UDR by 1.6% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 195,631 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,835,000 after acquiring an additional 3,027 shares in the last quarter. S. R. Schill & Associates acquired a new position in shares of UDR during the first quarter worth approximately $3,963,000. Pacific Sun Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of UDR by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Pacific Sun Financial Corp now owns 10,951 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $495,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new stake in UDR in the 1st quarter valued at $274,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.84% of the company’s stock.

UDR Price Performance

NYSE:UDR traded down $0.51 on Monday, hitting $40.78. The company had a trading volume of 1,479,814 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,181,098. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $42.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.19. UDR has a 52 week low of $36.28 and a 52 week high of $47.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 163.12, a PEG ratio of 8.67 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 5.61, a quick ratio of 5.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71.

UDR (NYSE:UDR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.53. UDR had a return on equity of 2.65% and a net margin of 5.36%. On average, research analysts anticipate that UDR will post 2.51 earnings per share for the current year.

UDR Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.22%. This is a boost from UDR’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. UDR’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 688.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on UDR. Jefferies Financial Group cut UDR from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $50.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of UDR from $48.00 to $45.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of UDR from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of UDR from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on UDR from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.12.

UDR Company Profile

UDR, Inc (NYSE: UDR), an S&P 500 company, is a leading multifamily real estate investment trust with a demonstrated performance history of delivering superior and dependable returns by successfully managing, buying, selling, developing and redeveloping attractive real estate communities in targeted U.S.