Healthcare Realty Trust (NYSE:HR) Rating Lowered to Underperform at Wedbush

Healthcare Realty Trust (NYSE:HR) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wedbush from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note issued on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. They presently have a $16.00 price target on the real estate investment trust’s stock, down from their prior price target of $18.00. Wedbush’s price objective would indicate a potential downside of 5.60% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Healthcare Realty Trust from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $17.00 price objective (up from $16.00) on shares of Healthcare Realty Trust in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Healthcare Realty Trust currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.14.

Healthcare Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of HR opened at $16.95 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $6.01 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.73 and a beta of 0.93. Healthcare Realty Trust has a 12 month low of $12.77 and a 12 month high of $18.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $17.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.55.

Insider Transactions at Healthcare Realty Trust

In related news, Director Thomas N. Bohjalian purchased 7,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $17.39 per share, with a total value of $134,772.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 50,002 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $869,534.78. This represents a 18.34 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Peter F. Sr Lyle, Sr. acquired 10,000 shares of Healthcare Realty Trust stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $17.21 per share, with a total value of $172,100.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 26,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $457,372.96. This represents a 60.33 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have bought 18,750 shares of company stock valued at $323,723. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Healthcare Realty Trust

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HR. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Healthcare Realty Trust by 7.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,856,286 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $96,513,000 after buying an additional 395,243 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in shares of Healthcare Realty Trust by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 4,784,186 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $78,843,000 after acquiring an additional 301,747 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in Healthcare Realty Trust by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 2,367,735 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $39,020,000 after purchasing an additional 103,259 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Healthcare Realty Trust during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,392,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Healthcare Realty Trust by 358.2% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,142,110 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,879,000 after purchasing an additional 1,674,583 shares in the last quarter.

About Healthcare Realty Trust

Healthcare Realty (NYSE: HR) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns and operates medical outpatient buildings primarily located around market-leading hospital campuses. The Company selectively grows its portfolio through property acquisition and development. As the first and largest REIT to specialize in medical outpatient buildings, Healthcare Realty's portfolio includes more than 700 properties totaling over 40 million square feet concentrated in 15 growth markets.