Short Interest in Camden Property Trust (NYSE:CPT) Expands By 28.7%

Camden Property Trust (NYSE:CPT) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,840,000 shares, an increase of 28.7% from the January 31st total of 1,430,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 783,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Camden Property Trust Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of CPT traded down $3.40 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $121.02. 230,980 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 873,547. Camden Property Trust has a 1-year low of $94.75 and a 1-year high of $127.69. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $116.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $119.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The company has a market cap of $12.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.75, a P/E/G ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.94.

Camden Property Trust (NYSE:CPT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.05. Camden Property Trust had a return on equity of 3.35% and a net margin of 10.58%. Research analysts expect that Camden Property Trust will post 6.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Camden Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.05 per share. This is an increase from Camden Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.47%. Camden Property Trust’s payout ratio is 280.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Richard J. Campo sold 1,043 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.06, for a total value of $114,792.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 299,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,918,065.52. The trade was a 0.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Heather J. Brunner sold 264 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.06, for a total transaction of $29,055.84. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10,273 shares in the company, valued at $1,130,646.38. This represents a 2.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 25,413 shares of company stock worth $2,895,718. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Camden Property Trust

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Camden Property Trust by 76.6% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 226 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service acquired a new position in shares of Camden Property Trust in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Quent Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Camden Property Trust by 87.0% during the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 245 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Camden Property Trust during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Camden Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. 97.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CPT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Camden Property Trust from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Camden Property Trust from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Camden Property Trust from $121.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com raised Camden Property Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Camden Property Trust from $127.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $126.53.

About Camden Property Trust

Camden Property Trust, an S&P 500 Company, is a real estate company primarily engaged in the ownership, management, development, redevelopment, acquisition, and construction of multifamily apartment communities. Camden owns and operates 172 properties containing 58,250 apartment homes across the United States.