Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in CareTrust REIT, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTRE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CareTrust REIT, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTRE - Free Report) by 5.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 838,306 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 41,623 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.59% of CareTrust REIT worth $25,870,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CTRE. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of CareTrust REIT during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in CareTrust REIT in the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in CareTrust REIT by 178.3% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,205 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 772 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in CareTrust REIT in the second quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in CareTrust REIT by 187.7% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,752 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 1,143 shares in the last quarter. 87.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CareTrust REIT Price Performance

Shares of CTRE stock traded down $0.27 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $30.50. 442,716 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,540,114. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $30.73 and a 200 day moving average of $27.85. The company has a quick ratio of 7.60, a current ratio of 7.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. CareTrust REIT, Inc. has a 52-week low of $20.10 and a 52-week high of $33.15. The company has a market cap of $5.23 billion, a PE ratio of 21.22 and a beta of 1.09.

CareTrust REIT (NASDAQ:CTRE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $77.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $74.12 million. CareTrust REIT had a return on equity of 5.32% and a net margin of 36.88%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.35 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that CareTrust REIT, Inc. will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current year.

CareTrust REIT Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. CareTrust REIT's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 161.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on CTRE shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on CareTrust REIT from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on CareTrust REIT from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. KeyCorp lifted their target price on CareTrust REIT from $27.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised CareTrust REIT from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $28.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CareTrust REIT currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $31.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CareTrust REIT news, CFO William M. Wagner sold 35,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.80, for a total value of $1,043,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 257,439 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,671,682.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.75% of the company's stock.

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.