Dark Forest Capital Management LP Takes $1.74 Million Position in CareTrust REIT, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTRE)

Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new position in CareTrust REIT, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTRE - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 64,479 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $1,744,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advantage Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of CareTrust REIT in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in CareTrust REIT by 98.8% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,495 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 743 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CareTrust REIT by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,808 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 603 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of CareTrust REIT by 20.3% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,628 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of CareTrust REIT by 24.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,033 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on CTRE shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on CareTrust REIT from $34.00 to $31.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of CareTrust REIT from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $31.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on CareTrust REIT from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of CareTrust REIT in a research note on Friday, March 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CareTrust REIT currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $31.00.

CareTrust REIT Stock Performance

Shares of CareTrust REIT stock traded down $0.06 during trading on Friday, hitting $28.10. 583,442 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,779,552. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.57, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.88. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.22. CareTrust REIT, Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.92 and a 1 year high of $33.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 3.82 and a quick ratio of 3.82.

CareTrust REIT (NASDAQ:CTRE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.12). CareTrust REIT had a return on equity of 5.59% and a net margin of 42.22%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.25 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that CareTrust REIT, Inc. will post 1.71 EPS for the current year.

CareTrust REIT Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.335 per share. This is a boost from CareTrust REIT's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. CareTrust REIT's payout ratio is presently 169.62%.

About CareTrust REIT

CareTrust REIT, Inc's (CareTrust REIT or the Company) primary business consists of acquiring, financing, developing and owning real property to be leased to third-party tenants in the healthcare sector. As of March 31, 2024, the Company owned directly or through a joint venture and leased to independent operators, 228 skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), multi-service campuses, assisted living facilities (ALFs) and independent living facilities (ILFs) consisting of 24,189 operational beds and units located in 29 states with the highest concentration of properties by rental income located in California and Texas.