KBC Group NV Buys 3,201 Shares of CubeSmart (NYSE:CUBE)

KBC Group NV grew its stake in CubeSmart (NYSE:CUBE) by 54.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,068 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 3,201 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in CubeSmart were worth $389,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CUBE. Oak Thistle LLC raised its position in CubeSmart by 232.9% in the 4th quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 32,280 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,383,000 after buying an additional 22,582 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of CubeSmart by 32.9% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 158,472 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,531,000 after acquiring an additional 39,270 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in CubeSmart by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 319,316 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $15,950,000 after purchasing an additional 36,919 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in CubeSmart in the third quarter worth about $628,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of CubeSmart by 127.1% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 33,013 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,777,000 after purchasing an additional 18,475 shares in the last quarter. 97.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CubeSmart Stock Down 0.7 %

CubeSmart stock opened at $41.67 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.42 billion, a PE ratio of 23.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.42 and a beta of 0.87. CubeSmart has a fifty-two week low of $39.80 and a fifty-two week high of $55.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.20. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $43.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.86.

CubeSmart (NYSE:CUBE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.24). The company had revenue of $270.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $267.49 million. CubeSmart had a net margin of 37.79% and a return on equity of 14.33%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.68 EPS. Research analysts expect that CubeSmart will post 2.64 earnings per share for the current year.

CubeSmart Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a $0.52 dividend. This is an increase from CubeSmart’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.99%. CubeSmart’s payout ratio is presently 117.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CUBE. Truist Financial raised shares of CubeSmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $50.00 to $47.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of CubeSmart from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $46.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of CubeSmart from $53.00 to $52.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on CubeSmart from $56.00 to $53.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of CubeSmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $57.00 to $46.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.73.

About CubeSmart

CubeSmart is a self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust. The Company's self-storage properties are designed to offer affordable, easily accessible and, in most locations, climate-controlled storage space for residential and commercial customers. According to the 2023 Self-Storage Almanac, CubeSmart is one of the top three owners and operators of self-storage properties in the United States.