Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 38,620 Shares of CareTrust REIT, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTRE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in CareTrust REIT, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTRE - Free Report) by 5.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 796,683 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 38,620 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.56% of CareTrust REIT worth $19,997,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of CareTrust REIT by 41.4% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 155,100 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,471,000 after acquiring an additional 45,400 shares during the period. Hazelview Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of CareTrust REIT in the first quarter worth approximately $20,047,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its holdings in shares of CareTrust REIT by 32.3% in the first quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 125,276 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,052,000 after buying an additional 30,619 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CareTrust REIT by 13.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,267,738 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $493,925,000 after buying an additional 2,376,832 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Centersquare Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CareTrust REIT by 1.6% in the first quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 2,869,111 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $70,924,000 after buying an additional 45,733 shares during the last quarter. 87.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CareTrust REIT Price Performance

CareTrust REIT stock traded up $0.30 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $29.80. 1,336,161 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,371,915. The company has a market cap of $4.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.75 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $27.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.37. The company has a quick ratio of 13.37, a current ratio of 13.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. CareTrust REIT, Inc. has a 12-month low of $19.67 and a 12-month high of $30.02.

CareTrust REIT (NASDAQ:CTRE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.29). The business had revenue of $68.89 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $66.36 million. CareTrust REIT had a net margin of 30.09% and a return on equity of 4.84%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.35 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that CareTrust REIT, Inc. will post 1.48 earnings per share for the current year.

CareTrust REIT Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th were paid a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.89%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 28th. CareTrust REIT's dividend payout ratio is presently 223.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CTRE. Wedbush began coverage on shares of CareTrust REIT in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $26.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of CareTrust REIT from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of CareTrust REIT from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of CareTrust REIT from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 1st. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of CareTrust REIT from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $26.67.

CareTrust REIT Profile

CareTrust REIT, Inc is a self-administered, publicly-traded real estate investment trust engaged in the ownership, acquisition, development and leasing of skilled nursing, seniors housing and other healthcare-related properties. With a nationwide portfolio of long-term net-leased properties, and a growing portfolio of quality operators leasing them, CareTrust REIT is pursuing both external and organic growth opportunities across the United States.