Healthcare Realty Trust (NYSE:HR) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Healthcare Realty Trust (NYSE:HR) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $17.00 price target on the real estate investment trust’s stock, down from their previous price target of $19.00.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Healthcare Realty Trust from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $19.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “underweight” rating and set a $17.00 price target (up previously from $16.00) on shares of Healthcare Realty Trust in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Wedbush lowered shares of Healthcare Realty Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $18.00 to $16.00 in a research note on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.14.

Healthcare Realty Trust Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE:HR opened at $16.47 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $5.84 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.42 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.54.

Healthcare Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.53%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. Healthcare Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -78.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Thomas N. Bohjalian acquired 7,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $17.39 per share, for a total transaction of $134,772.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 50,002 shares in the company, valued at $869,534.78. The trade was a 18.34 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Robert E. Hull sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.48, for a total value of $174,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 171,400 shares in the company, valued at $2,996,072. The trade was a 5.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 18,750 shares of company stock worth $323,723. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Healthcare Realty Trust

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HR. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Healthcare Realty Trust by 38.1% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,276 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 628 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Healthcare Realty Trust during the second quarter valued at approximately $556,000. Hodges Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Healthcare Realty Trust by 18.5% during the second quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 32,050 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $528,000 after buying an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Healthcare Realty Trust by 35.1% during the second quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. now owns 80,750 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,331,000 after buying an additional 21,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Healthcare Realty Trust by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 81,598 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,345,000 after buying an additional 848 shares during the last quarter.

Healthcare Realty Trust Company Profile

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.