CareTrust REIT (NASDAQ:CTRE) Sees Large Volume Increase – What’s Next?

Shares of CareTrust REIT, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTRE) saw strong trading volume on Thursday . 2,342,756 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 65% from the previous session’s volume of 1,416,578 shares.The stock last traded at $32.81 and had previously closed at $32.81.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CTRE has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded CareTrust REIT from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $28.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of CareTrust REIT from $27.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on CareTrust REIT from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on CareTrust REIT from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CareTrust REIT currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.00.

CareTrust REIT Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 13.37, a quick ratio of 13.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $30.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.21 and a beta of 1.10.

CareTrust REIT (NASDAQ:CTRE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.17). CareTrust REIT had a net margin of 30.09% and a return on equity of 4.84%. The business had revenue of $77.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $74.12 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.35 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that CareTrust REIT, Inc. will post 1.48 earnings per share for the current year.

CareTrust REIT Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. CareTrust REIT’s payout ratio is currently 223.08%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO William M. Wagner sold 35,000 shares of CareTrust REIT stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.80, for a total transaction of $1,043,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 257,439 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,671,682.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Amalgamated Bank grew its holdings in CareTrust REIT by 3.9% during the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 44,808 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,383,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of CareTrust REIT by 18.2% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 24,516 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $756,000 after purchasing an additional 3,777 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of CareTrust REIT by 6.2% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 11,786 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $364,000 after purchasing an additional 692 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. purchased a new position in CareTrust REIT in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $220,000. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in CareTrust REIT by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 200,568 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,190,000 after acquiring an additional 3,979 shares during the period. 87.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CareTrust REIT Company Profile

CareTrust REIT, Inc’s (CareTrust REIT or the Company) primary business consists of acquiring, financing, developing and owning real property to be leased to third-party tenants in the healthcare sector. As of March 31, 2024, the Company owned directly or through a joint venture and leased to independent operators, 228 skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), multi-service campuses, assisted living facilities (ALFs) and independent living facilities (ILFs) consisting of 24,189 operational beds and units located in 29 states with the highest concentration of properties by rental income located in California and Texas.