CareTrust REIT, Inc. (NYSE:CTRE) Short Interest Up 23.4% in February

CareTrust REIT, Inc. (NYSE:CTRE) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 15,336,179 shares, a growth of 23.4% from the February 12th total of 12,424,823 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,870,801 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 8.2 days. Currently, 6.9% of the company’s shares are sold short. Currently, 6.9% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,870,801 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 8.2 days.

Institutional Trading of CareTrust REIT

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CTRE. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in CareTrust REIT by 14.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,973,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,143,511,000 after purchasing an additional 4,067,975 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of CareTrust REIT by 108.5% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,493,898 shares of the company’s stock valued at $234,820,000 after buying an additional 3,379,732 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in CareTrust REIT during the fourth quarter worth $114,810,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in CareTrust REIT by 201.8% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,772,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,434,000 after acquiring an additional 2,522,260 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hudson Bay Capital Management LP lifted its stake in CareTrust REIT by 713.4% in the third quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 1,710,528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,321,000 after acquiring an additional 1,989,394 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.77% of the company’s stock.

CareTrust REIT Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of CTRE traded down $0.56 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $39.56. The stock had a trading volume of 896,674 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,877,689. The firm has a market cap of $8.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.61. CareTrust REIT has a twelve month low of $25.82 and a twelve month high of $41.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.73.

CareTrust REIT (NYSE:CTRE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $134.86 million for the quarter. CareTrust REIT had a return on equity of 8.98% and a net margin of 67.28%.CareTrust REIT has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.900-1.95 EPS.

CareTrust REIT Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. This is a positive change from CareTrust REIT’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. CareTrust REIT’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 86.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp boosted their target price on CareTrust REIT from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Citizens Jmp assumed coverage on shares of CareTrust REIT in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. They set a “market outperform” rating and a $44.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of CareTrust REIT from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of CareTrust REIT from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $44.00 price objective on shares of CareTrust REIT in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $42.80.

CareTrust REIT Company Profile

CareTrust REIT, Inc is a real estate investment trust based in Deerfield Beach, Florida, specializing in the ownership, acquisition and management of net-leased healthcare properties. The company primarily focuses on seniors housing and post-acute care facilities, entering into long-term, triple-net lease agreements with leading operators in the skilled nursing, assisted living, memory care, inpatient rehabilitation and specialty hospital sectors. Through its portfolio, CareTrust REIT aims to provide investors with stable and predictable rental income while supporting the ongoing demand for quality healthcare real estate across the United States.

Since its initial public offering in September 2013, CareTrust REIT has pursued a disciplined acquisition strategy, targeting properties in primary and select secondary markets.