Healthcare Realty Trust (NYSE:HR) Rating Increased to Hold 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 published on Tuesday.

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

Healthcare Realty Trust Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE:HR opened at $16.80 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $16.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.37. Healthcare Realty Trust has a fifty-two week low of $12.77 and a fifty-two week high of $18.90. The stock has a market cap of $5.95 billion, a PE ratio of -9.44 and a beta of 0.94.

Healthcare Realty Trust (NYSE:HR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.01. Healthcare Realty Trust had a negative net margin of 51.60% and a negative return on equity of 11.20%. 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 firm earned $0.39 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Healthcare Realty Trust will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Healthcare Realty Trust Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Healthcare Realty Trust

In other Healthcare Realty Trust news, Director Peter F. Sr Lyle, Sr. acquired 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $17.21 per share, with a total value of $172,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 26,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $457,372.96. The trade was a 60.33 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Healthcare Realty Trust

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Healthcare Realty Trust by 59.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,650 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 612 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Healthcare Realty Trust by 130.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,635 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 925 shares in the last quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Healthcare Realty Trust in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Healthcare Realty Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of Healthcare Realty Trust by 68.7% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,067 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,249 shares during the period.

About Healthcare Realty Trust

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.