Franklin Resources Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in CubeSmart (NYSE:CUBE)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in CubeSmart (NYSE:CUBE) by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 319,316 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 36,919 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in CubeSmart were worth $15,950,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CUBE. Whittier Trust Co. raised its position in shares of CubeSmart by 136.9% in the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 559 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of CubeSmart by 302.0% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 591 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in CubeSmart in the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in CubeSmart in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its position in CubeSmart by 195.6% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,144 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 757 shares in the last quarter. 97.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CubeSmart Price Performance

NYSE:CUBE opened at $42.66 on Friday. CubeSmart has a one year low of $39.80 and a one year high of $55.14. The stock has a market cap of $9.65 billion, a PE ratio of 24.10, a P/E/G ratio of 13.00 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.20. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $48.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.43.

CubeSmart (NYSE:CUBE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.24). CubeSmart had a net margin of 37.79% and a return on equity of 14.33%. The company had revenue of $270.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $267.49 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.68 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that CubeSmart will post 2.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CubeSmart Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. This is an increase from CubeSmart’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.88%. CubeSmart’s payout ratio is 117.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on CUBE. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on CubeSmart from $56.00 to $53.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of CubeSmart from $53.00 to $52.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 25th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of CubeSmart from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of CubeSmart from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded shares of CubeSmart from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $53.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Friday, September 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.36.

About CubeSmart

CubeSmart is a self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust. The Company's self-storage properties are designed to offer affordable, easily accessible and, in most locations, climate-controlled storage space for residential and commercial customers. According to the 2023 Self-Storage Almanac, CubeSmart is one of the top three owners and operators of self-storage properties in the United States.