Whitestone REIT Plans Monthly Dividend of $0.05 (NYSE:WSR)

Whitestone REIT (NYSE:WSR) declared a monthly dividend on Wednesday, June 11th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a dividend of 0.045 per share by the real estate investment trust on Thursday, September 11th. This represents a $0.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd.

Whitestone REIT has a payout ratio of 128.6% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Research analysts expect Whitestone REIT to earn $1.05 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.54 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 51.4%.

Whitestone REIT Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSR opened at $12.42 on Friday. Whitestone REIT has a 52 week low of $11.78 and a 52 week high of $15.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $632.13 million, a P/E ratio of 30.29, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $13.52. The company has a quick ratio of 2.17, a current ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49.

Whitestone REIT (NYSE:WSR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. Whitestone REIT had a net margin of 13.97% and a return on equity of 4.98%. The business had revenue of $37.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.95 million. On average, analysts expect that Whitestone REIT will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen began coverage on shares of Whitestone REIT in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Whitestone REIT from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 12th.

Insider Activity at Whitestone REIT

In related news, Director Donald A. Miller acquired 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was bought at an average price of $12.35 per share, for a total transaction of $61,750.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 21,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $268,093.80. This represents a 29.93% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Whitestone REIT

Whitestone REIT (NYSE: WSR) is a community-centered real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, owns, operates, and develops open-air, retail centers located in some of the fastest growing markets in the country: Phoenix, Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio. Our centers are convenience focused: merchandised with a mix of service-oriented tenants providing food (restaurants and grocers), self-care (health and fitness), services (financial and logistics), education and entertainment to the surrounding communities.