Van ECK Associates Corp Boosts Stake in Urban Edge Properties (NYSE:UE)

Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in Urban Edge Properties (NYSE:UE) by 13.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 23,855 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 2,824 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Urban Edge Properties were worth $513,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UE. USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in shares of Urban Edge Properties during the fourth quarter worth about $93,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Urban Edge Properties by 36.0% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,612 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 1,221 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Urban Edge Properties during the third quarter worth about $101,000. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Urban Edge Properties by 42.1% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,141 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 1,524 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Urban Edge Properties by 875.1% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,947 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $170,000 after purchasing an additional 7,132 shares during the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Urban Edge Properties

In other Urban Edge Properties news, CEO Jeffrey S. Olson sold 240,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.45, for a total value of $5,388,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,350.95. This trade represents a 99.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 3.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on UE shares. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Urban Edge Properties from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Urban Edge Properties from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th.

Urban Edge Properties Price Performance

UE opened at $20.04 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.96 and a beta of 1.54. Urban Edge Properties has a fifty-two week low of $15.81 and a fifty-two week high of $23.85. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $20.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Urban Edge Properties (NYSE:UE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.25. Urban Edge Properties had a net margin of 16.31% and a return on equity of 5.59%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Urban Edge Properties will post 1.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Urban Edge Properties Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.79%. This is a positive change from Urban Edge Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Urban Edge Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 115.26%.

About Urban Edge Properties

Urban Edge Properties is a NYSE listed real estate investment trust focused on owning, managing, acquiring, developing, and redeveloping retail real estate in urban communities, primarily in the Washington, DC to Boston corridor. Urban Edge owns 76 properties totaling 17.1 million square feet of gross leasable area.