Urban Edge Properties (NYSE:UE) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Urban Edge Properties (NYSE:UE) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 3,050,000 shares, a decline of 16.7% from the February 13th total of 3,660,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 847,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.6 days. Approximately 2.5% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered Urban Edge Properties from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Urban Edge Properties from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UE. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Urban Edge Properties by 1,499.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,599,628 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,216,000 after purchasing an additional 1,499,628 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in Urban Edge Properties during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,584,000. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Urban Edge Properties by 8.6% during the 3rd 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 grew its holdings in shares of Urban Edge Properties by 56.1% during the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 646,960 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Urban Edge Properties by 438.7% in the 3rd 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 acquiring an additional 637,587 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Urban Edge Properties Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE UE traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $18.75. The company had a trading volume of 644,462 shares, compared to its average volume of 819,154. Urban Edge Properties has a one year low of $15.81 and a one year high of $23.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $20.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.29. The stock has a market cap of $2.35 billion, a PE ratio of 31.77 and a beta of 1.54.

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

Urban Edge Properties Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.05%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Urban Edge Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Urban Edge Properties’s payout ratio is currently 128.81%.

About Urban Edge Properties

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.