Short Interest in Healthcare Realty Trust Incorporated (NYSE:HR) Decreases By 6.7%

Healthcare Realty Trust Incorporated (NYSE:HR) was the target of a large decrease in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 13,000,000 shares, a decrease of 6.7% from the September 15th total of 13,930,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,480,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.7 days.

Healthcare Realty Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HR traded down $0.27 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $17.92. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 611,047 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,485,074. The company has a market cap of $6.78 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.68 and a beta of 0.91. Healthcare Realty Trust has a 12-month low of $12.77 and a 12-month high of $18.90. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $17.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.61.

Healthcare Realty Trust (NYSE:HR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.39) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.77). Healthcare Realty Trust had a negative return on equity of 8.50% and a negative net margin of 42.79%. The company had revenue of $316.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $317.90 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.39 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Healthcare Realty Trust will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Healthcare Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 28th. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.92%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. Healthcare Realty Trust’s payout ratio is currently -93.23%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Thomas N. Bohjalian purchased 9,000 shares of Healthcare Realty Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $17.39 per share, for a total transaction of $156,510.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 22,252 shares in the company, valued at $386,962.28. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director John Knox Singleton acquired 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $18.24 per share, for a total transaction of $118,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 57,082 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,041,175.68. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas N. Bohjalian bought 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $17.39 per share, for a total transaction of $156,510.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 22,252 shares in the company, valued at approximately $386,962.28. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired 15,728 shares of company stock valued at $279,069 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Healthcare Realty Trust

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Centersquare Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Healthcare Realty Trust during the 1st quarter worth about $1,246,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Healthcare Realty Trust by 394.9% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 388,015 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,490,000 after acquiring an additional 309,609 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Healthcare Realty Trust by 1.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,246,277 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $767,585,000 after acquiring an additional 723,197 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Healthcare Realty Trust in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $719,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Healthcare Realty Trust in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,360,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on HR. Wedbush increased their price target on Healthcare Realty Trust from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $17.00 target price (up previously from $16.00) on shares of Healthcare Realty Trust in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Healthcare Realty Trust from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.14.

About Healthcare Realty Trust

Healthcare Realty (NYSE: HR) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns and operates medical outpatient buildings primarily located around market-leading hospital campuses. The Company selectively grows its portfolio through property acquisition and development. As the first and largest REIT to specialize in medical outpatient buildings, Healthcare Realty's portfolio includes more than 700 properties totaling over 40 million square feet concentrated in 15 growth markets.