LTC Properties (NYSE:LTC) Upgraded at Citizens Jmp

Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of LTC Properties (NYSE:LTC - Free Report) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on LTC. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of LTC Properties in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $37.00 target price (up previously from $36.00) on shares of LTC Properties in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, JMP Securities raised LTC Properties from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $37.75.

LTC Properties Price Performance

Shares of LTC traded up $0.05 on Tuesday, hitting $34.19. The company's stock had a trading volume of 235,295 shares, compared to its average volume of 316,739. The company has a market capitalization of $1.55 billion, a PE ratio of 14.67 and a beta of 0.93. LTC Properties has a fifty-two week low of $30.30 and a fifty-two week high of $39.89. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $37.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 11.60 and a quick ratio of 11.60.

LTC Properties (NYSE:LTC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $55.78 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.45 million. LTC Properties had a net margin of 48.77% and a return on equity of 10.49%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.65 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that LTC Properties will post 2.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LTC Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be given a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.67%. LTC Properties's payout ratio is 97.85%.

Insider Activity at LTC Properties

In related news, insider Clint B. Malin sold 6,000 shares of LTC Properties stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.75, for a total transaction of $232,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 158,585 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,145,168.75. This trade represents a 3.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David L. Gruber purchased 3,000 shares of LTC Properties stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $37.16 per share, with a total value of $111,480.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 21,516 shares in the company, valued at $799,534.56. This trade represents a 16.20 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LTC. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in LTC Properties in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of LTC Properties by 35.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,687 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of LTC Properties by 25.4% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,805 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 366 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of LTC Properties by 132.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,899 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $106,000 after acquiring an additional 1,653 shares during the period. Finally, Community Trust & Investment Co. acquired a new stake in shares of LTC Properties during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $202,000. 69.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About LTC Properties

LTC Properties, Inc is a real estate investment trust, which engages in managing seniors housing and health care properties. It operates through the Texas, Michigan, Florida, Wisconsin, Colorado, and Remaining States geographic segments. The company was founded by Andre C. Dimitriadis on May 12, 1992 and is headquartered in Westlake Village, CA.