Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 227,636 Shares of CubeSmart (NYSE:CUBE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its stake in CubeSmart (NYSE:CUBE - Free Report) by 30.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 521,502 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 227,636 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.23% of CubeSmart worth $28,072,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whittier Trust Co. raised its position in CubeSmart by 136.9% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 559 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of CubeSmart by 302.0% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 591 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of CubeSmart during the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in CubeSmart during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Quarry LP grew its position in CubeSmart by 195.6% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,144 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 757 shares in the last quarter. 97.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CubeSmart Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE CUBE traded up $0.41 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $43.21. The company had a trading volume of 582,103 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,359,688. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $47.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. CubeSmart has a one year low of $39.80 and a one year high of $55.14. The stock has a market cap of $9.77 billion, a PE ratio of 24.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 13.00 and a beta of 0.84.

CubeSmart (NYSE:CUBE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.24). The business had revenue of $270.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $267.49 million. CubeSmart had a net margin of 37.79% and a return on equity of 14.33%. CubeSmart's quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that CubeSmart will post 2.63 earnings per share for the current year.

CubeSmart Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be paid a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.81%. This is an increase from CubeSmart's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. CubeSmart's dividend payout ratio is presently 117.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on CUBE shares. Barclays cut their price target on shares of CubeSmart from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of CubeSmart from $53.00 to $52.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of CubeSmart from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on CubeSmart from $53.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, UBS Group lowered CubeSmart from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $53.00 to $54.00 in a report on Friday, September 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $51.36.

About CubeSmart

CubeSmart is a self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust. The Company's self-storage properties are designed to offer affordable, easily accessible and, in most locations, climate-controlled storage space for residential and commercial customers. According to the 2023 Self-Storage Almanac, CubeSmart is one of the top three owners and operators of self-storage properties in the United States.