Healthcare Realty Trust Incorporated (NYSE:HR) Short Interest Up 6.5% in October

Healthcare Realty Trust Incorporated (NYSE:HR) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 13,840,000 shares, a growth of 6.5% from the September 30th total of 13,000,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,390,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.1 days.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Trading of Healthcare Realty Trust

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Healthcare Realty Trust by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 166,676 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,040,000 after purchasing an additional 13,592 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Healthcare Realty Trust during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $89,000. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Healthcare Realty Trust by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 18,899 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $343,000 after buying an additional 2,475 shares in the last quarter. abrdn plc boosted its holdings in shares of Healthcare Realty Trust by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 252,889 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,590,000 after buying an additional 6,419 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Healthcare Realty Trust by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 44,034 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $799,000 after buying an additional 2,446 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Healthcare Realty Trust from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Wedbush boosted their target price on Healthcare Realty Trust from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.17.

Healthcare Realty Trust Stock Performance

Shares of Healthcare Realty Trust stock traded up $0.07 on Friday, hitting $17.25. The stock had a trading volume of 3,676,265 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,459,174. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $17.89 and a 200 day moving average of $16.89. Healthcare Realty Trust has a twelve month low of $12.77 and a twelve month high of $18.90.

Healthcare Realty Trust (NYSE:HR) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.39) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.77). The firm had revenue of $316.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $317.90 million. Healthcare Realty Trust had a negative net margin of 45.63% and a negative return on equity of 9.42%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.39 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Healthcare Realty Trust will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Healthcare Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.19%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. Healthcare Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently -78.48%.

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.