Oak Thistle LLC Makes New Investment in CubeSmart $CUBE

Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new position in shares of CubeSmart (NYSE:CUBE) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 56,512 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $2,037,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanderbilt University acquired a new stake in CubeSmart during the 4th quarter worth about $555,000. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV lifted its position in CubeSmart by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 23,041 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $831,000 after acquiring an additional 835 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd lifted its position in CubeSmart by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 15,507 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $559,000 after acquiring an additional 859 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in CubeSmart by 298.9% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,815 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $174,000 after acquiring an additional 3,608 shares during the period. Finally, Aberdeen Group plc lifted its position in CubeSmart by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 107,704 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,883,000 after acquiring an additional 15,565 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.61% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at CubeSmart

In related news, insider Jeffrey P. Foster sold 23,148 shares of CubeSmart stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.02, for a total value of $949,530.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 205,057 shares in the company, valued at $8,411,438.14. The trade was a 10.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

CubeSmart Price Performance

Shares of CubeSmart stock opened at $38.48 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. CubeSmart has a twelve month low of $34.24 and a twelve month high of $44.13. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $38.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.22. The firm has a market cap of $8.74 billion, a PE ratio of 26.54 and a beta of 1.13.

CubeSmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 1st will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 1st. CubeSmart’s payout ratio is currently 146.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CUBE. Scotiabank raised CubeSmart to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. BNP Paribas Exane raised CubeSmart from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $43.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on CubeSmart from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on CubeSmart from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut CubeSmart from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, March 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $43.64.

About CubeSmart

CubeSmart (NYSE: CUBE) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) specializing in the ownership, operation and management of self-storage facilities across the United States. The company’s portfolio comprises properties in primary and secondary markets, catering to both individual and business customers seeking flexible, short-term and long-term storage solutions. CubeSmart’s facilities feature a range of unit sizes, climate-controlled options and advanced security features, supported by on-site managers and centralized customer service operations.

In addition to traditional self-storage units, CubeSmart offers specialty services such as vehicle and boat storage, retail sales of packing and moving supplies, and tenant insurance programs.