Urban Edge Properties (NYSE:UE) Short Interest Up 60.7% in March

Urban Edge Properties (NYSE:UE) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,900,000 shares, a growth of 60.7% from the February 28th total of 3,050,000 shares. Currently, 4.0% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 872,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.6 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Urban Edge Properties by 1,499.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,599,628 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,216,000 after acquiring an additional 1,499,628 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new position in shares of Urban Edge Properties in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,584,000. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Urban Edge Properties by 8.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 13,911,571 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $297,568,000 after purchasing an additional 1,096,560 shares during the period. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Urban Edge Properties by 56.1% in the fourth quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 1,800,970 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,721,000 after purchasing an additional 646,960 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Urban Edge Properties by 438.7% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 782,921 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $16,747,000 after purchasing an additional 637,587 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Urban Edge Properties from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Urban Edge Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th.

Urban Edge Properties Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of UE stock traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $18.99. 316,574 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 852,407. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $19.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92. Urban Edge Properties has a 52-week low of $15.81 and a 52-week high of $23.85. The stock has a market cap of $2.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.16 and a beta of 1.54.

Urban Edge Properties (NYSE:UE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.25. Urban Edge Properties had a net margin of 16.31% and a return on equity of 5.59%. Equities analysts predict that Urban Edge Properties will post 1.4 EPS for the current year.

Urban Edge Properties Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.00%. This is an increase from Urban Edge Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Urban Edge Properties’s dividend payout ratio is 128.81%.

Urban Edge Properties Company Profile

Urban Edge Properties is a NYSE listed real estate investment trust focused on owning, managing, acquiring, developing, and redeveloping retail real estate in urban communities, primarily in the Washington, DC to Boston corridor. Urban Edge owns 76 properties totaling 17.1 million square feet of gross leasable area.