CareTrust REIT, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTRE) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

CareTrust REIT, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTRE) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $26.67.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wedbush assumed coverage on CareTrust REIT in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $26.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on CareTrust REIT from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 1st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on CareTrust REIT from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of CareTrust REIT from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th.

CareTrust REIT Trading Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ:CTRE opened at $29.77 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $27.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.48. CareTrust REIT has a fifty-two week low of $19.79 and a fifty-two week high of $30.33. The stock has a market cap of $4.23 billion, a PE ratio of 57.25 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 13.37 and a quick ratio of 13.37.

CareTrust REIT (NASDAQ:CTRE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.29). The firm had revenue of $68.89 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $66.36 million. CareTrust REIT had a net margin of 30.09% and a return on equity of 4.84%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.35 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that CareTrust REIT will post 1.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CareTrust REIT Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th were paid a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 28th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.90%. CareTrust REIT’s payout ratio is 223.08%.

Insider Activity at CareTrust REIT

In other CareTrust REIT news, CFO William M. Wagner sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.80, for a total value of $1,043,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 257,439 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,671,682.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.75% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CareTrust REIT

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CTRE. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CareTrust REIT during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in CareTrust REIT in the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of CareTrust REIT by 187.7% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,752 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 1,143 shares in the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in shares of CareTrust REIT during the 4th quarter worth about $67,000. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of CareTrust REIT by 536.6% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 2,613 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.77% of the company’s stock.

About CareTrust REIT

CareTrust REIT, Inc is a self-administered, publicly-traded real estate investment trust engaged in the ownership, acquisition, development and leasing of skilled nursing, seniors housing and other healthcare-related properties. With a nationwide portfolio of long-term net-leased properties, and a growing portfolio of quality operators leasing them, CareTrust REIT is pursuing both external and organic growth opportunities across the United States.