Jefferies Financial Group Initiates Coverage on Boston Properties (NYSE:BXP)

Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Boston Properties (NYSE:BXP) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $78.00 price target on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 18.99% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Boston Properties from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Boston Properties from $88.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Boston Properties from $92.00 to $86.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wedbush lowered shares of Boston Properties from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Boston Properties from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $80.85.

Boston Properties Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BXP opened at $65.55 on Monday. Boston Properties has a 1 year low of $56.46 and a 1 year high of $90.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 655.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 5.69 and a quick ratio of 5.51. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $70.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.73.

Boston Properties (NYSE:BXP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $1.28. Boston Properties had a return on equity of 3.90% and a net margin of 0.38%. As a group, research analysts predict that Boston Properties will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Boston Properties

In other Boston Properties news, EVP Hilary J. Spann sold 12,379 shares of Boston Properties stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.02, for a total transaction of $891,535.58. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,271 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $523,657.42. The trade was a 63.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Donna D. Garesche sold 2,143 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.87, for a total transaction of $145,445.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Boston Properties

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC boosted its stake in shares of Boston Properties by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 170,504 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $12,679,000 after buying an additional 18,900 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its stake in Boston Properties by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 49,293 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,966,000 after purchasing an additional 6,687 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Boston Properties by 198.9% during the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 149,156 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $11,091,000 after purchasing an additional 99,248 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Boston Properties by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 70,444 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,238,000 after purchasing an additional 1,169 shares during the period. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its position in Boston Properties by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 8,731 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $650,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the period. 98.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Boston Properties Company Profile

Boston Properties, Inc (NYSE: BXP) (BXP or the Company) is the largest publicly traded developer, owner, and manager of premier workplaces in the United States, concentrated in six dynamic gateway markets – Boston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, DC. BXP has delivered places that power progress for our clients and communities for more than 50 years.