CareTrust REIT (NASDAQ:CTRE) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

CareTrust REIT, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTRE)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $29.07, but opened at $27.69. CareTrust REIT shares last traded at $28.92, with a volume of 430,345 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on CTRE shares. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of CareTrust REIT from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of CareTrust REIT from $34.00 to $31.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Wedbush reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of CareTrust REIT in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of CareTrust REIT from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $31.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.00.

CareTrust REIT Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 3.82, a current ratio of 3.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market capitalization of $5.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.10, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.88. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.17.

CareTrust REIT (NASDAQ:CTRE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.12). CareTrust REIT had a return on equity of 5.59% and a net margin of 42.22%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.25 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that CareTrust REIT, Inc. will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current year.

CareTrust REIT Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.335 per share. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.70%. This is a boost from CareTrust REIT’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. CareTrust REIT’s payout ratio is presently 169.62%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CTRE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of CareTrust REIT by 381.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,878,379 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $212,267,000 after buying an additional 5,448,904 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in CareTrust REIT by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,300,633 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $738,482,000 after acquiring an additional 4,263,097 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in CareTrust REIT by 51.8% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,932,946 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $214,586,000 after acquiring an additional 2,708,050 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in CareTrust REIT in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,048,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in CareTrust REIT by 149.6% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,708,664 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $73,269,000 after purchasing an additional 1,623,297 shares in the last quarter. 87.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CareTrust REIT Company Profile

CareTrust REIT, Inc’s (CareTrust REIT or the Company) primary business consists of acquiring, financing, developing and owning real property to be leased to third-party tenants in the healthcare sector. As of March 31, 2024, the Company owned directly or through a joint venture and leased to independent operators, 228 skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), multi-service campuses, assisted living facilities (ALFs) and independent living facilities (ILFs) consisting of 24,189 operational beds and units located in 29 states with the highest concentration of properties by rental income located in California and Texas.