Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in Urban Edge Properties (NYSE:UE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Urban Edge Properties (NYSE:UE) by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 650,407 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 64,221 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Urban Edge Properties were worth $13,912,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in Urban Edge Properties in the second quarter worth $19,326,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Urban Edge Properties by 16.2% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 191,555 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,308,000 after acquiring an additional 26,650 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Urban Edge Properties by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,546,753 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $320,302,000 after acquiring an additional 191,258 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Urban Edge Properties during the 3rd quarter worth about $550,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Urban Edge Properties by 48.4% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,406,251 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,973,000 after purchasing an additional 458,951 shares during the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Urban Edge Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Urban Edge Properties from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Mark Langer sold 93,962 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.57, for a total value of $2,214,684.34. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 35,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $844,183.12. This represents a 72.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Urban Edge Properties Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE UE opened at $22.95 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.87 billion, a PE ratio of 10.29 and a beta of 1.54. Urban Edge Properties has a 12 month low of $15.81 and a 12 month high of $23.85. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $21.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Urban Edge Properties (NYSE:UE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter. Urban Edge Properties had a net margin of 59.23% and a return on equity of 20.89%. The business had revenue of $112.26 million for the quarter. Equities research analysts forecast that Urban Edge Properties will post 1.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Urban Edge Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Urban Edge Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.49%.

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.