LTC Properties (NYSE:LTC) Rating Increased to Outperform at JMP Securities

JMP Securities upgraded shares of LTC Properties (NYSE:LTC - Free Report) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $40.00 price target on the real estate investment trust's stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of LTC Properties in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $37.00 price target (up from $36.00) on shares of LTC Properties in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st.

LTC Properties Price Performance

NYSE LTC traded up $0.66 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $34.12. 413,399 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 337,100. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.40. LTC Properties has a 1 year low of $30.30 and a 1 year high of $39.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 11.60 and a quick ratio of 11.60. The company has a market cap of $1.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.64 and a beta of 0.93.

LTC Properties (NYSE:LTC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $55.78 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.65 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that LTC Properties will post 2.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LTC Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.68%. LTC Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 97.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On LTC Properties

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LTC. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of LTC Properties by 35.3% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,443 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 638 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in LTC Properties by 80.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 253,807 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $9,312,000 after acquiring an additional 113,100 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in LTC Properties by 6.9% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 229,176 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $8,408,000 after acquiring an additional 14,778 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in LTC Properties in the third quarter worth about $270,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of LTC Properties by 0.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,125,020 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $41,284,000 after purchasing an additional 8,351 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.25% of the company's stock.

LTC Properties Company Profile

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.