Brookdale Senior Living (NYSE:BKD) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s Why

Brookdale Senior Living Inc. (NYSE:BKD) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 3,197,387 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 57% from the previous session’s volume of 2,030,186 shares.The stock last traded at $4.82 and had previously closed at $4.70.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on BKD shares. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Brookdale Senior Living in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $8.00 price target for the company. Bank of America lowered Brookdale Senior Living from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $7.75 to $6.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Macquarie restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $8.00 price objective on shares of Brookdale Senior Living in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $8.00 target price on shares of Brookdale Senior Living in a report on Friday, December 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Brookdale Senior Living currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $7.50.

Brookdale Senior Living Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $922.34 million, a PE ratio of -5.03 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.46. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $5.15 and its 200-day moving average is $6.12.

Brookdale Senior Living (NYSE:BKD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.16) by ($0.06). Brookdale Senior Living had a negative net margin of 6.75% and a negative return on equity of 59.06%. The business had revenue of $784.17 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $785.61 million. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.22) EPS. Equities analysts predict that Brookdale Senior Living Inc. will post -0.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Brookdale Senior Living news, Director Lee S. Wielansky sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.62, for a total value of $56,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 211,382 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,187,966.84. This represents a 4.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Brookdale Senior Living

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of Brookdale Senior Living by 19.2% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 1,324,478 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,662,000 after acquiring an additional 213,512 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Income Solutions Inc purchased a new position in Brookdale Senior Living in the 4th quarter worth about $114,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Brookdale Senior Living by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 150,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $755,000 after purchasing an additional 13,494 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Brookdale Senior Living in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Hedges Asset Management LLC grew its position in Brookdale Senior Living by 28.0% in the 4th quarter. Hedges Asset Management LLC now owns 265,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,333,000 after purchasing an additional 58,000 shares during the period.

About Brookdale Senior Living

Brookdale Senior Living Inc owns, manages, and operates senior living communities in the United States. It operates in three segments: Independent Living, Assisted Living and Memory Care, and Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRCs). The Independent Living segment owns or leases communities comprising independent and assisted living units in a single community that are primarily designed for middle to upper income seniors.