Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Increases Stock Position in CareTrust REIT, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTRE)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its stake in CareTrust REIT, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTRE) by 21.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 63,082 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,007 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in CareTrust REIT were worth $1,706,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Advantage Trust Co purchased a new stake in CareTrust REIT in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of CareTrust REIT by 98.8% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,495 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 743 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CareTrust REIT by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,808 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 603 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its holdings in shares of CareTrust REIT by 5,527.8% in the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 2,026 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 1,990 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of CareTrust REIT in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $80,000. 87.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CareTrust REIT Trading Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ:CTRE opened at $28.70 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $26.66 and a 200 day moving average of $28.64. CareTrust REIT, Inc. has a 52 week low of $23.26 and a 52 week high of $33.15. The company has a quick ratio of 3.82, a current ratio of 3.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.11.

CareTrust REIT (NASDAQ:CTRE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.12). CareTrust REIT had a net margin of 42.22% and a return on equity of 5.59%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.25 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that CareTrust REIT, Inc. will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current year.

CareTrust REIT Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.335 per share. This is an increase from CareTrust REIT’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.67%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. CareTrust REIT’s payout ratio is presently 146.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of CareTrust REIT from $34.00 to $31.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of CareTrust REIT from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $34.00 to $32.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of CareTrust REIT from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. Wedbush restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of CareTrust REIT in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of CareTrust REIT from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $31.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CareTrust REIT currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.00.

About CareTrust REIT

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.