Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (NYSE:ARE) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (NYSE:ARE) was the target of a large increase in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,090,000 shares, an increase of 14.4% from the December 31st total of 2,700,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,320,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE ARE opened at $97.70 on Monday. Alexandria Real Estate Equities has a 12 month low of $94.35 and a 12 month high of $130.14. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $101.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $111.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $16.91 billion, a PE ratio of 54.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 1.16.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities (NYSE:ARE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 forecast that Alexandria Real Estate Equities will post 9.34 EPS for the current year.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $1.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Alexandria Real Estate Equities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.40%. Alexandria Real Estate Equities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 293.33%.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities announced that its board has approved a share buyback 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 generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ARE shares. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities from $129.00 to $124.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com downgraded Alexandria Real Estate Equities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Alexandria Real Estate Equities from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $133.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $104.00 price target on shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $121.30.

Institutional Trading of Alexandria Real Estate Equities

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities by 11,449.8% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,423,630 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $169,056,000 after acquiring an additional 1,411,304 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in Alexandria Real Estate Equities by 350.0% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 341,357 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $40,536,000 after purchasing an additional 265,508 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in Alexandria Real Estate Equities by 501.1% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 290,857 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,539,000 after buying an additional 242,466 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Alexandria Real Estate Equities by 114.9% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 435,416 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $51,706,000 after buying an additional 232,817 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities by 315.9% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 169,350 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $20,110,000 after buying an additional 128,634 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.