Healthcare Realty Trust (NYSE:HR) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold” Rating

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

A number of other analysts also recently commented on HR. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Healthcare Realty Trust from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Healthcare Realty Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $19.00 to $17.00 in a research 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 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $16.00 price target on shares of Healthcare Realty Trust in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.20.

Healthcare Realty Trust Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE: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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $16.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.38. Healthcare Realty Trust has a fifty-two week low of $12.77 and a fifty-two week high of $18.90.

Healthcare Realty Trust (NYSE:HR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.01. Healthcare Realty Trust had a negative net margin of 51.60% and a negative return on equity of 11.20%. The firm had revenue of $309.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $303.81 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.39 EPS. Healthcare Realty Trust’s quarterly revenue was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Healthcare Realty Trust will post 1.59 EPS for the current year.

Healthcare Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.31 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio is currently -69.66%.

Insider Transactions at Healthcare Realty Trust

In other news, COO Robert E. Hull sold 10,000 shares of Healthcare Realty Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.48, for a total value of $174,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 171,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,996,072. The trade was a 5.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Healthcare Realty Trust

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Healthcare Realty Trust by 31.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 469,323 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,955,000 after acquiring an additional 111,125 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Healthcare Realty Trust by 106.4% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 77,545 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,407,000 after acquiring an additional 39,975 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Healthcare Realty Trust in the third quarter worth approximately $849,000. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Healthcare Realty Trust by 13.4% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 84,728 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,538,000 after acquiring an additional 10,044 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Healthcare Realty Trust in the fourth quarter worth approximately $399,000.

Healthcare Realty Trust Company Profile

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.