Wedbush Downgrades Boston Properties (NYSE:BXP) to Strong Sell

Wedbush lowered shares of Boston Properties (NYSE:BXP) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report released on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on BXP. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Boston Properties from $88.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Compass Point upgraded Boston Properties from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $80.00 to $88.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Boston Properties from $93.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Boston Properties from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Boston Properties in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $82.23.

Boston Properties Stock Performance

BXP opened at $73.11 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 5.51, a current ratio of 5.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $75.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $76.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 731.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.18. Boston Properties has a 12-month low of $56.46 and a 12-month high of $90.11.

Boston Properties (NYSE:BXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $1.28. Boston Properties had a return on equity of 3.86% and a net margin of 0.38%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Boston Properties will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Boston Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.36%. Boston Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3,920.39%.

Institutional Trading of Boston Properties

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BXP. Whittier Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Boston Properties by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 296,354 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $23,844,000 after acquiring an additional 12,018 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its stake in Boston Properties by 2.7% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 133,871 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $10,771,000 after purchasing an additional 3,502 shares in the last quarter. Sun Life Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Boston Properties during the third quarter worth $9,674,000. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in shares of Boston Properties by 11.9% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 110,587 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,898,000 after buying an additional 11,752 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Boston Properties by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 70,444 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,238,000 after buying an additional 1,169 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.72% of the company’s stock.

Boston Properties Company Profile

Boston Properties, Inc (NYSE: BXP) (BXP or the Company) is the largest publicly traded developer, owner, and manager of premier workplaces in the United States, concentrated in six dynamic gateway markets – Boston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, DC. BXP has delivered places that power progress for our clients and communities for more than 50 years.