CareTrust REIT (NASDAQ:CTRE) Shares Gap Down - Time to Sell?

Shares of CareTrust REIT, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTRE - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $29.07, but opened at $27.69. CareTrust REIT shares last traded at $28.92, with a volume of 430,345 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of CareTrust REIT from $34.00 to $31.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on CareTrust REIT from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Wedbush reissued an "underperform" rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of CareTrust REIT in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded CareTrust REIT from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $31.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $31.00.

CareTrust REIT Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $27.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 3.82 and a current ratio of 3.82. The company has a market cap of $5.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.88.

CareTrust REIT (NASDAQ:CTRE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.12). CareTrust REIT had a return on equity of 5.59% and a net margin of 42.22%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.25 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that CareTrust REIT, Inc. will post 1.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CareTrust REIT Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.335 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.57%. This is a boost from CareTrust REIT's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. CareTrust REIT's payout ratio is currently 145.65%.

Institutional Trading of CareTrust REIT

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CareTrust REIT by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,300,633 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $738,482,000 after buying an additional 4,263,097 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in CareTrust REIT by 51.8% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,932,946 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $214,586,000 after acquiring an additional 2,708,050 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of CareTrust REIT by 381.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,878,379 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $212,267,000 after acquiring an additional 5,448,904 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of CareTrust REIT by 23.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,620,274 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $125,006,000 after purchasing an additional 887,665 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in CareTrust REIT by 24.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,891,679 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $78,220,000 after buying an additional 568,634 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.77% of the company's stock.

CareTrust REIT Company Profile

CareTrust REIT, Inc's (CareTrust REIT or the Company) primary business consists of acquiring, financing, developing and owning real property to be leased to third-party tenants in the healthcare sector. As of March 31, 2024, the Company owned directly or through a joint venture and leased to independent operators, 228 skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), multi-service campuses, assisted living facilities (ALFs) and independent living facilities (ILFs) consisting of 24,189 operational beds and units located in 29 states with the highest concentration of properties by rental income located in California and Texas.