Healthcare Realty Trust (NYSE:HR) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Healthcare Realty Trust (NYSE:HR) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Tuesday morning.

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

Healthcare Realty Trust Stock Performance

HR opened at $16.89 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $5.98 billion, a PE ratio of -9.49 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $16.63 and a 200-day moving average of $17.38. Healthcare Realty Trust has a 52-week low of $12.77 and a 52-week high of $18.90.

Healthcare Realty Trust (NYSE:HR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.01. Healthcare Realty Trust had a negative return on equity of 11.20% and a negative net margin of 51.60%. The firm had revenue of $309.77 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $303.81 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.39 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Healthcare Realty Trust will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Healthcare Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.34%. Healthcare Realty Trust’s payout ratio is -69.66%.

Insider Transactions at Healthcare Realty Trust

In related news, Director Peter F. Sr Lyle, Sr. acquired 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $17.21 per share, for a total transaction of $172,100.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 26,576 shares in the company, valued at $457,372.96. This trade represents a 60.33 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Healthcare Realty Trust by 59.0% during the 4th 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 during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Healthcare Realty Trust by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 11,530 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $195,000 after acquiring an additional 706 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in Healthcare Realty Trust by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 16,581 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $281,000 after acquiring an additional 756 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Healthcare Realty Trust by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 70,776 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,200,000 after acquiring an additional 786 shares during the period. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in Healthcare Realty Trust by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 20,193 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $342,000 after acquiring an additional 793 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.