Healthcare Realty Trust (NYSE:HR) Raised to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Healthcare Realty Trust (NYSE:HR - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $16.00 target price on shares of Healthcare Realty Trust in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Healthcare Realty Trust from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Healthcare Realty Trust from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $19.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Healthcare Realty Trust from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $19.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, December 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $17.20.

Healthcare Realty Trust Trading Up 1.8 %

HR stock traded up $0.30 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $17.11. 6,297,769 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,497,274. The stock has a market cap of $6.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.61 and a beta of 0.94. Healthcare Realty Trust has a one year low of $12.77 and a one year high of $18.90. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.37.

Healthcare Realty Trust (NYSE:HR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $309.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $303.81 million. Healthcare Realty Trust had a negative return on equity of 11.20% and a negative net margin of 51.60%. Healthcare Realty Trust's revenue was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.39 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Healthcare Realty Trust will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Healthcare Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Healthcare Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -69.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Robert E. Hull sold 10,000 shares of Healthcare Realty Trust stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.48, for a total transaction of $174,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 171,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,996,072. The trade was a 5.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Healthcare Realty Trust

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Healthcare Realty Trust by 59.0% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,650 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 612 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Healthcare Realty Trust by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 11,530 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $195,000 after buying an additional 706 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in Healthcare Realty Trust by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 16,581 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $281,000 after buying an additional 756 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Healthcare Realty Trust by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 70,776 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,200,000 after buying an additional 786 shares during the period. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Healthcare Realty Trust by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 20,193 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $342,000 after acquiring an additional 793 shares in the last quarter.

About Healthcare Realty Trust

Healthcare Realty Trust, Inc provides real estate investment services. It owns, leases, manages, acquires, finances, develops, and redevelops income-producing real estate properties associated primarily with the delivery of outpatient healthcare services throughout the United States of America. The company was founded by David R.