Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Position in Urban Edge Properties (NYSE:UE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Urban Edge Properties (NYSE:UE) by 11.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 650,407 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 64,221 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.54% of Urban Edge Properties worth $13,912,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Urban Edge Properties by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,546,753 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $320,302,000 after acquiring an additional 191,258 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Urban Edge Properties by 12.7% during the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 4,572,054 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $78,959,000 after purchasing an additional 516,317 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Urban Edge Properties by 7.1% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,757,044 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $32,452,000 after purchasing an additional 117,152 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Urban Edge Properties by 48.4% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,406,251 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,973,000 after purchasing an additional 458,951 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Urban Edge Properties in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $19,326,000. Institutional investors own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Urban Edge Properties Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UE opened at $22.95 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $21.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.87 billion, a PE ratio of 10.29 and a beta of 1.54. Urban Edge Properties has a twelve month low of $15.81 and a twelve month high of $23.85.

Urban Edge Properties (NYSE:UE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $112.26 million during the quarter. Urban Edge Properties had a return on equity of 20.89% and a net margin of 59.23%. Equities research analysts expect that Urban Edge Properties will post 1.32 EPS for the current year.

Urban Edge Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.96%. Urban Edge Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.49%.

Insider Activity

In other Urban Edge Properties news, CFO Mark Langer sold 93,962 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.57, for a total value of $2,214,684.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 35,816 shares in the company, valued at $844,183.12. This represents a 72.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on UE. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Urban Edge Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Urban Edge Properties from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th.

Urban Edge Properties Profile

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.