Legato Capital Management LLC Buys New Shares in CareTrust REIT, Inc. $CTRE

Legato Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in CareTrust REIT, Inc. (NYSE:CTRE) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 32,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,173,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in shares of CareTrust REIT by 114.1% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 3,470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,000 after acquiring an additional 1,849 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of CareTrust REIT by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 8,735 shares of the company’s stock valued at $316,000 after acquiring an additional 461 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in shares of CareTrust REIT by 55.2% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 79,046 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,858,000 after acquiring an additional 28,100 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of CareTrust REIT by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 61,718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,232,000 after acquiring an additional 612 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in shares of CareTrust REIT by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 21,597 shares of the company’s stock valued at $781,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of CareTrust REIT from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of CareTrust REIT from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of CareTrust REIT from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Mizuho set a $45.00 price objective on shares of CareTrust REIT in a research report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of CareTrust REIT from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $43.09.

CareTrust REIT Stock Performance

Shares of CTRE stock opened at $41.19 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.40, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 2.37 and a current ratio of 2.38. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.20. CareTrust REIT, Inc. has a 52 week low of $27.81 and a 52 week high of $43.08.

CareTrust REIT Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. This is a positive change from CareTrust REIT’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. CareTrust REIT’s payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

About CareTrust REIT

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.