AMREP (NYSE:AXR) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded AMREP (NYSE:AXR) from a "hold" to a "buy," while Freedom Capital recently cut its rating to "hold," leaving the consensus analyst rating at "Hold."
• Insider buying accelerated: insiders acquired 42,026 shares worth about $1.07M in the last 90 days (including purchases by Director Timothy McNaney and major shareholder James H. Dahl), and now own 37.20% of the company.
• Operational snapshot: AMREP beat Q1 expectations with $0.58 EPS vs. $0.57 expected and $14.57M revenue vs. $14.03M expected; the stock trades near $27.70 with a market cap of ~$147M and a P/E of ~11.5.

AMREP (NYSE:AXR - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Separately, Freedom Capital lowered shares of AMREP from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AMREP currently has an average rating of "Hold".

AMREP Stock Up 0.5%

AXR stock opened at $27.70 on Friday. AMREP has a 12 month low of $17.61 and a 12 month high of $29.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $26.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.31. The company has a market capitalization of $146.94 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.54 and a beta of 1.23.

AMREP (NYSE:AXR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 12th. The business services provider reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $14.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.03 million. AMREP had a net margin of 24.40% and a return on equity of 9.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AMREP news, Director Timothy S. Mcnaney purchased 1,765 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 21st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $28.17 per share, with a total value of $49,720.05. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,720.05. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder James H. Dahl purchased 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $27.85 per share, with a total value of $83,550.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 486,977 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,562,309.45. The trade was a 0.62% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders acquired a total of 42,026 shares of company stock worth $1,072,303 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 37.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of AMREP

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of AMREP by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 48,281 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $968,000 after purchasing an additional 3,344 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in AMREP by 42.1% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 10,394 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $208,000 after buying an additional 3,077 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in AMREP during the first quarter valued at about $46,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in AMREP by 1.7% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 33,566 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $703,000 after acquiring an additional 574 shares during the period. Finally, Truffle Hound Capital LLC raised its holdings in AMREP by 31.0% in the 3rd quarter. Truffle Hound Capital LLC now owns 150,000 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,588,000 after acquiring an additional 35,476 shares in the last quarter. 59.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About AMREP

AMREP Corporation NYSE: AXR is a Denver-area based company specializing in land development and natural resource management. Since its founding in 1961, AMREP has built a diversified platform that spans real estate operations and resource extraction, serving both individual and institutional clients in the western United States.

Through its real estate segment, AMREP Southwest Inc acquires, develops and markets residential lots in planned communities across New Mexico and Colorado. Notable projects include the Tanoan Country Club and adjacent residential neighborhoods near Albuquerque, where the company employs a direct-to-consumer marketing model to reach out-of-state and local buyers.

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