Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 1,428,008 Shares of Veris Residential, Inc. (NYSE:VRE)

Prudential Financial Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Veris Residential, Inc. (NYSE:VRE) by 23.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,752,218 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,428,008 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.05% of Veris Residential worth $79,029,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Veris Residential in the fourth quarter worth about $184,000. Natixis Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Veris Residential in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $203,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Veris Residential during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $263,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Veris Residential by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 14,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,000 after acquiring an additional 1,378 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of Veris Residential in the fourth quarter valued at $274,000. Institutional investors own 93.04% of the company’s stock.

Veris Residential Stock Performance

NYSE:VRE opened at $16.65 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.55 billion, a PE ratio of -97.93, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.24. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $16.12 and its 200 day moving average is $16.91. Veris Residential, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $13.84 and a fifty-two week high of $18.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73.

Veris Residential (NYSE:VRE) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The company reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.12 by ($0.01). Veris Residential had a negative net margin of 5.70% and a negative return on equity of 4.97%. The firm had revenue of $68.08 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $66.98 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Veris Residential, Inc. will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Veris Residential Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.92%. Veris Residential’s dividend payout ratio is -133.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on VRE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Veris Residential from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $14.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and set a $18.00 target price (down from $20.00) on shares of Veris Residential in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Veris Residential from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th.

About Veris Residential

Veris Residential, Inc is a forward-thinking, environmentally and socially conscious real estate investment trust (REIT) that primarily owns, operates, acquires and develops holistically-inspired, Class A multifamily properties that meet the sustainability-conscious lifestyle needs of today’s residents while seeking to positively impact the communities it serves and the planet at large.