Alexandria Real Estate Equities (NYSE:ARE) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities (NYSE:ARE) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Thursday morning.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $104.00 price objective on shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities in a research report on Monday, March 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $100.00 price objective on the stock. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities from $125.00 to $114.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Alexandria Real Estate Equities presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $118.60.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities Stock Down 5.7 %

Shares of ARE opened at $81.32 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.08 billion, a PE ratio of 45.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Alexandria Real Estate Equities has a 12-month low of $81.20 and a 12-month high of $130.14. The business’s 50 day moving average is $96.73 and its 200 day moving average is $104.51.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities (NYSE:ARE) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $1.48. Alexandria Real Estate Equities had a return on equity of 1.43% and a net margin of 10.36%. Research analysts expect that Alexandria Real Estate Equities will post 9.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, December 9th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the real estate investment trust to buy up to 2.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.32 per share. This represents a $5.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.49%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Alexandria Real Estate Equities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 293.33%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alexandria Real Estate Equities

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Agate Pass Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Alexandria Real Estate Equities in the first quarter worth about $375,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities by 174.8% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,047 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $189,000 after purchasing an additional 1,302 shares in the last quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities in the 1st quarter worth approximately $259,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 36,713 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,581,000 after purchasing an additional 9,295 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Alexandria Real Estate Equities by 146.9% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,236 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,096,000 after buying an additional 6,686 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.54% of the company’s stock.

About Alexandria Real Estate Equities

Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc (NYSE: ARE), an S&P 500 company, is a best-in-class, mission-driven life science REIT making a positive and lasting impact on the world. As the pioneer of the life science real estate niche since our founding in 1994, Alexandria is the preeminent and longest-tenured owner, operator, and developer of collaborative life science, agtech, and advanced technology mega campuses in AAA innovation cluster locations, including Greater Boston, the San Francisco Bay Area, New York City, San Diego, Seattle, Maryland, and Research Triangle.