Boston Properties, Inc. (NYSE:BXP) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Boston Properties, Inc. (NYSE:BXP) was the target of a large growth in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,300,000 shares, a growth of 6.6% from the December 15th total of 6,850,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,190,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.1 days.

Boston Properties Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE BXP traded up $0.88 on Friday, reaching $73.32. 1,086,606 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 958,979. The company has a 50 day moving average of $77.13 and a 200 day moving average of $76.07. The company has a current ratio of 5.51, a quick ratio of 5.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01. Boston Properties has a fifty-two week low of $56.46 and a fifty-two week high of $90.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.59 billion, a PE ratio of 31.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.18.

Boston Properties (NYSE:BXP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81 by ($1.28). Boston Properties had a return on equity of 4.40% and a net margin of 10.75%. The company had revenue of $859.23 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $829.91 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.86 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Boston Properties will post 7.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Boston Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.35%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Boston Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 169.70%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Boston Properties

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Earnest Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Boston Properties by 25.9% during the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,637,235 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $162,348,000 after purchasing an additional 542,610 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in Boston Properties by 32.9% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,503,687 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $92,567,000 after buying an additional 371,946 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Boston Properties during the second quarter worth approximately $12,914,000. Sun Life Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Boston Properties in the third quarter worth $9,674,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of Boston Properties by 208.1% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 163,900 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $10,090,000 after acquiring an additional 110,700 shares during the period. 98.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on BXP shares. Compass Point upgraded shares of Boston Properties from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $80.00 to $88.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Wedbush raised shares of Boston Properties from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays upped their target price on Boston Properties from $88.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. UBS Group increased their target price on Boston Properties from $64.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on Boston Properties from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Boston Properties currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $82.00.

Boston Properties Company Profile

Boston Properties, Inc (NYSE: BXP) (BXP or the Company) is the largest publicly traded developer, owner, and manager of premier workplaces in the United States, concentrated in six dynamic gateway markets – Boston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, DC. BXP has delivered places that power progress for our clients and communities for more than 50 years.