Healthcare Realty Trust Incorporated (NYSE:HR) Short Interest Down 9.2% in September

Healthcare Realty Trust Incorporated (NYSE:HR) was the target of a large drop in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 13,930,000 shares, a drop of 9.2% from the August 31st total of 15,340,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,670,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.8 days.

Healthcare Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HR traded up $0.12 during trading on Friday, reaching $18.18. 2,145,755 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,582,294. Healthcare Realty Trust has a 12 month low of $12.77 and a 12 month high of $18.90. The company has a 50 day moving average of $17.85 and a 200-day moving average of $16.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.88 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.67 and a beta of 0.91.

Healthcare Realty Trust (NYSE:HR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.39) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.77). The business had revenue of $316.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $317.90 million. Healthcare Realty Trust had a negative net margin of 42.79% and a negative return on equity of 8.50%. Healthcare Realty Trust’s quarterly revenue was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.39 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Healthcare Realty Trust will post 1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Healthcare Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. Healthcare Realty Trust’s payout ratio is -93.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on HR shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Healthcare Realty Trust from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $17.00 to $16.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Healthcare Realty Trust from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of Healthcare Realty Trust from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.00.

Insider Transactions at Healthcare Realty Trust

In other news, Director John Knox Singleton bought 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $18.24 per share, for a total transaction of $118,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 57,082 shares in the company, valued at $1,041,175.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Director John Knox Singleton bought 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $18.24 per share, for a total transaction of $118,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 57,082 shares in the company, valued at $1,041,175.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Thomas N. Bohjalian purchased 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $17.39 per share, for a total transaction of $156,510.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 22,252 shares in the company, valued at $386,962.28. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 15,728 shares of company stock valued at $279,069 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HR. Centersquare Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Healthcare Realty Trust in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,246,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Healthcare Realty Trust by 394.9% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 388,015 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,490,000 after acquiring an additional 309,609 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Healthcare Realty Trust by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,246,277 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $767,585,000 after acquiring an additional 723,197 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Healthcare Realty Trust in the 1st quarter worth approximately $719,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Healthcare Realty Trust in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,360,000.

Healthcare Realty Trust Company Profile

Healthcare Realty (NYSE: HR) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns and operates medical outpatient buildings primarily located around market-leading hospital campuses. The Company selectively grows its portfolio through property acquisition and development. As the first and largest REIT to specialize in medical outpatient buildings, Healthcare Realty's portfolio includes more than 700 properties totaling over 40 million square feet concentrated in 15 growth markets.