Short Interest in Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (NYSE:ARE) Declines By 7.8%

Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (NYSE:ARE) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,700,000 shares, a decline of 7.8% from the November 30th total of 2,930,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,320,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on ARE shares. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Alexandria Real Estate Equities from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Alexandria Real Estate Equities from $129.00 to $124.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets raised Alexandria Real Estate Equities to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $135.00 to $112.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $125.00 in a report on Friday, September 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $124.82.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities stock traded down $0.25 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $97.55. The company had a trading volume of 1,325,429 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,035,268. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.20 and a quick ratio of 0.20. The company’s 50-day moving average is $106.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $114.31. The company has a market cap of $17.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 1.15. Alexandria Real Estate Equities has a twelve month low of $96.44 and a twelve month high of $131.36.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities (NYSE:ARE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.38 by ($1.42). Alexandria Real Estate Equities had a net margin of 9.62% and a return on equity of 1.31%. The company had revenue of $791.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $766.97 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.26 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Alexandria Real Estate Equities will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $1.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $5.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.41%. This is a boost from Alexandria Real Estate Equities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Alexandria Real Estate Equities’s payout ratio is currently 321.95%.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Monday, December 9th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the real estate investment trust to purchase up to 2.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alexandria Real Estate Equities

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Alexandria Real Estate Equities during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities during the third quarter worth about $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities by 132.8% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 270 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in Alexandria Real Estate Equities in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Alexandria Real Estate Equities by 144.0% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 305 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. 96.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.