Short Interest in CareTrust REIT, Inc. (NYSE:CTRE) Grows By 23.4%

CareTrust REIT, Inc. (NYSE:CTRE) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 15,336,179 shares, an increase of 23.4% from the February 12th total of 12,424,823 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,870,801 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 8.2 days. Currently, 6.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Currently, 6.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,870,801 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 8.2 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CareTrust REIT

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CareTrust REIT by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,184,181 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,199,940,000 after purchasing an additional 210,965 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in CareTrust REIT by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,426,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $453,411,000 after purchasing an additional 219,641 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in CareTrust REIT by 18.1% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,355,966 shares of the company’s stock worth $446,792,000 after buying an additional 1,893,143 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in CareTrust REIT by 108.5% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,493,898 shares of the company’s stock worth $234,820,000 after buying an additional 3,379,732 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of CareTrust REIT by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,092,398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $220,332,000 after buying an additional 409,411 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective on CareTrust REIT from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of CareTrust REIT from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of CareTrust REIT from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $43.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 9th. Citizens Jmp initiated coverage on shares of CareTrust REIT in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. They set a “market outperform” rating and a $44.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of CareTrust REIT from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.80.

CareTrust REIT Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of CTRE stock traded down $0.39 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $39.73. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,895,239 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,897,983. The company has a market cap of $8.87 billion, a PE ratio of 25.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.73 and a current ratio of 1.73. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $38.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.61. CareTrust REIT has a 52 week low of $25.82 and a 52 week high of $41.72.

CareTrust REIT (NYSE:CTRE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.03. CareTrust REIT had a net margin of 67.28% and a return on equity of 8.98%. The business had revenue of $134.86 million for the quarter. CareTrust REIT has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.900-1.95 EPS.

CareTrust REIT Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This is an increase from CareTrust REIT’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. CareTrust REIT’s dividend payout ratio is currently 86.45%.

About CareTrust REIT

CareTrust REIT, Inc is a real estate investment trust based in Deerfield Beach, Florida, specializing in the ownership, acquisition and management of net-leased healthcare properties. The company primarily focuses on seniors housing and post-acute care facilities, entering into long-term, triple-net lease agreements with leading operators in the skilled nursing, assisted living, memory care, inpatient rehabilitation and specialty hospital sectors. Through its portfolio, CareTrust REIT aims to provide investors with stable and predictable rental income while supporting the ongoing demand for quality healthcare real estate across the United States.

Since its initial public offering in September 2013, CareTrust REIT has pursued a disciplined acquisition strategy, targeting properties in primary and select secondary markets.