Kennedy Capital Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in CareTrust REIT, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTRE)

Kennedy Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in CareTrust REIT, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTRE - Free Report) by 49.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 64,477 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 64,040 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC's holdings in CareTrust REIT were worth $1,744,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CTRE. Advantage Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of CareTrust REIT in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of CareTrust REIT by 98.8% in the fourth 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 during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of CareTrust REIT by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,808 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 603 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CareTrust REIT by 20.3% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,628 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of CareTrust REIT by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,033 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $109,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.77% of the company's stock.

CareTrust REIT Stock Up 0.5 %

CTRE traded up $0.14 during trading on Friday, reaching $28.76. The stock had a trading volume of 1,294,136 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,773,175. The company has a current ratio of 3.82, a quick ratio of 3.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market capitalization of $5.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.88. The stock's 50 day moving average is $27.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.27. CareTrust REIT, Inc. has a one year low of $23.26 and a one year high of $33.15.

CareTrust REIT (NASDAQ:CTRE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 previous year, the company earned $0.25 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that CareTrust REIT, Inc. will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current year.

CareTrust REIT Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.335 per share. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.66%. This is a positive change from CareTrust REIT's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. CareTrust REIT's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 169.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

CareTrust REIT Company Profile

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.