Camden Property Trust (NYSE:CPT) Short Interest Update

Camden Property Trust (NYSE:CPT - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,590,000 shares, an increase of 24.2% from the February 28th total of 1,280,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 887,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.8 days. Currently, 1.5% of the company's stock are short sold.

Camden Property Trust Stock Performance

Camden Property Trust stock traded down $8.48 on Friday, hitting $110.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,960,211 shares, compared to its average volume of 901,415. Camden Property Trust has a one year low of $94.75 and a one year high of $127.69. The firm has a market cap of $12.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 73.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $119.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $119.05.

Camden Property Trust (NYSE:CPT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.05. Camden Property Trust had a return on equity of 3.35% and a net margin of 10.58%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Camden Property Trust will post 6.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Camden Property Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.05 per share. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.80%. This is a boost from Camden Property Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Camden Property Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 280.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Heather J. Brunner sold 264 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.06, for a total transaction of $29,055.84. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,130,646.38. This trade represents a 2.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Alexander J. Jessett sold 13,067 shares of Camden Property Trust stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.50, for a total value of $1,496,171.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 124,246 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,226,167. This represents a 9.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 25,548 shares of company stock worth $2,912,212. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Camden Property Trust

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CPT. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Camden Property Trust by 76.6% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 226 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service acquired a new stake in Camden Property Trust in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Quent Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Camden Property Trust by 87.0% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 245 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Camden Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Camden Property Trust during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 97.22% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CPT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Camden Property Trust from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $117.00 to $139.00 in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Barclays boosted their price target on Camden Property Trust from $126.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup raised Camden Property Trust from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $125.00 to $138.00 in a report on Friday, March 28th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Camden Property Trust from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Camden Property Trust from $121.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Camden Property Trust presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $127.76.

About Camden Property Trust

Camden Property Trust, an S&P 500 Company, is a real estate company primarily engaged in the ownership, management, development, redevelopment, acquisition, and construction of multifamily apartment communities. Camden owns and operates 172 properties containing 58,250 apartment homes across the United States.