Whitestone REIT (NYSE:WSR) to Issue Dividend Increase – $0.04 Per Share

Whitestone REIT (NYSE:WSR) declared a dividend on Thursday, July 4th, investing.com reports. Investors of record on Monday, July 8th will be given a dividend of 0.0413 per share by the real estate investment trust on Thursday, July 11th. This represents a dividend yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. This is an increase from Whitestone REIT’s previous dividend of $0.04.

Whitestone REIT has increased its dividend by an average of 10.1% per year over the last three years. Whitestone REIT has a dividend payout ratio of 47.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Whitestone REIT to earn $1.12 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.50 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 44.6%.

Whitestone REIT Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Whitestone REIT stock traded up $0.03 during trading on Thursday, reaching $13.21. 109,376 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 339,091. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 2.09. Whitestone REIT has a 1-year low of $9.07 and a 1-year high of $13.49. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $12.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $659.97 million, a PE ratio of 27.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.27.

Whitestone REIT (NYSE:WSR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by ($0.06). Whitestone REIT had a net margin of 16.64% and a return on equity of 5.77%. The company had revenue of $37.16 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.24 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Whitestone REIT will post 1.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on WSR. Alliance Global Partners began coverage on shares of Whitestone REIT in a report on Monday, March 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $15.00 target price for the company. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $15.00 target price on shares of Whitestone REIT in a report on Friday, June 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Whitestone REIT currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $13.63.

About Whitestone REIT

Whitestone REIT (NYSE: WSR) is a community-centered real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, owns, operates, and develops open-air, retail centers located in some of the fastest growing markets in the country: Phoenix, Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio. Our centers are convenience focused: merchandised with a mix of service-oriented tenants providing food (restaurants and grocers), self-care (health and fitness), services (financial and logistics), education and entertainment to the surrounding communities.