Whitestone REIT (NYSE:WSR) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Whitestone REIT (NYSE:WSR) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $14.53 and last traded at $14.44, with a volume of 258637 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $13.47.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on WSR shares. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Whitestone REIT from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $15.00 price target on shares of Whitestone REIT in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Whitestone REIT presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $15.00.

Whitestone REIT Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.93 and a quick ratio of 1.93. The firm has a market cap of $721.42 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.26. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $13.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.87.

Whitestone REIT Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be issued a $0.0413 dividend. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 3rd. Whitestone REIT’s dividend payout ratio is presently 102.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Julia Bruns Buthman bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $12.99 per share, with a total value of $64,950.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 8,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $105,128.07. This trade represents a 100.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

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.