Vestcor Inc Lowers Stock Holdings in CareTrust REIT, Inc. $CTRE

Vestcor Inc trimmed its holdings in shares of CareTrust REIT, Inc. (NYSE:CTRE) by 30.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 179,451 shares of the company’s stock after selling 77,255 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in CareTrust REIT were worth $6,489,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CareTrust REIT by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,184,181 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,199,940,000 after purchasing an additional 210,965 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of CareTrust REIT by 11.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,206,572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $427,336,000 after purchasing an additional 1,277,378 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CareTrust REIT by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,092,398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $220,332,000 after purchasing an additional 409,411 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CareTrust REIT by 114.4% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 3,238,307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,305,000 after purchasing an additional 1,728,043 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of CareTrust REIT during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $114,810,000. 87.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CTRE has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of CareTrust REIT from a “buy (a)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $46.00 target price on shares of CareTrust REIT in a report on Friday, May 29th. Zacks Research raised shares of CareTrust REIT from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of CareTrust REIT from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Mizuho set a $45.00 price target on shares of CareTrust REIT in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CareTrust REIT presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $44.09.

CareTrust REIT Price Performance

Shares of CTRE opened at $38.01 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 2.37, a current ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $39.46 and a 200 day moving average of $38.45. CareTrust REIT, Inc. has a twelve month low of $27.81 and a twelve month high of $43.08.

CareTrust REIT Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. This is an increase from CareTrust REIT’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. CareTrust REIT’s payout ratio is 100.00%.

CareTrust REIT Profile

CareTrust REIT, Inc is a real estate investment trust based in Deerfield Beach, Florida, specializing in the ownership, acquisition and management of net-leased healthcare properties. The company primarily focuses on seniors housing and post-acute care facilities, entering into long-term, triple-net lease agreements with leading operators in the skilled nursing, assisted living, memory care, inpatient rehabilitation and specialty hospital sectors. Through its portfolio, CareTrust REIT aims to provide investors with stable and predictable rental income while supporting the ongoing demand for quality healthcare real estate across the United States.

Since its initial public offering in September 2013, CareTrust REIT has pursued a disciplined acquisition strategy, targeting properties in primary and select secondary markets.