Healthcare Realty Trust (NYSE:HR) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Healthcare Realty Trust (NYSE:HR) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Tuesday.

HR has been the subject of several other research reports. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Healthcare Realty Trust from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Healthcare Realty Trust from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $19.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Healthcare Realty Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $19.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $16.00 price objective on shares of Healthcare Realty Trust in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.20.

Healthcare Realty Trust Stock Performance

Shares of Healthcare Realty Trust stock opened at $16.80 on Tuesday. Healthcare Realty Trust has a fifty-two week low of $12.77 and a fifty-two week high of $18.90. The company has a market cap of $5.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.44 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.37.

Healthcare Realty Trust (NYSE:HR) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. Healthcare Realty Trust had a negative return on equity of 11.20% and a negative net margin of 51.60%. The company had revenue of $309.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $303.81 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.39 earnings per share. Healthcare Realty Trust’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Healthcare Realty Trust will post 1.59 EPS for the current year.

Healthcare Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.38%. Healthcare Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently -69.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Robert E. Hull sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.48, for a total value of $174,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 171,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,996,072. This represents a 5.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Healthcare Realty Trust

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Starboard Value LP purchased a new position in Healthcare Realty Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $342,110,000. Rush Island Management LP boosted its position in shares of Healthcare Realty Trust by 21.2% during the 4th quarter. Rush Island Management LP now owns 15,681,440 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $265,800,000 after purchasing an additional 2,747,848 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Healthcare Realty Trust by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,630,973 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $78,495,000 after purchasing an additional 495,599 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Healthcare Realty Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $76,825,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Healthcare Realty Trust by 40.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,040,969 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $68,494,000 after purchasing an additional 1,159,763 shares in the last quarter.

Healthcare Realty Trust Company Profile

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.