CubeSmart (NYSE:CUBE) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analyst consensus: Sixteen analysts rate CubeSmart a consensus "Hold" (10 hold, 6 buy) with an average 12‑month price target of $43.57.
• Dividend and payout risk: CubeSmart pays a $0.53 quarterly dividend (annualized $2.12, yield 5.4%) but its dividend payout ratio is 146.21%, suggesting the dividend may be unsustainably high.
• Investor activity: Institutional ownership is very high (97.61%) with recent large buys including a new Norges Bank stake (~$396M) and a 201.5% increase by Millennium Management, while insider Jeffrey P. Foster sold 23,148 shares, cutting his position by about 10%.

Shares of CubeSmart (NYSE:CUBE - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the sixteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $43.5714.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on CUBE shares. Wall Street Zen cut CubeSmart from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, March 1st. UBS Group dropped their target price on CubeSmart from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Wolfe Research cut CubeSmart from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of CubeSmart from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of CubeSmart from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $43.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jeffrey P. Foster sold 23,148 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.02, for a total transaction of $949,530.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 205,057 shares in the company, valued at $8,411,438.14. This trade represents a 10.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CubeSmart

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CUBE. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in CubeSmart during the 4th quarter valued at $395,968,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in CubeSmart by 201.5% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,739,600 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $98,763,000 after purchasing an additional 1,830,993 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its holdings in CubeSmart by 36.4% during the 3rd quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 4,283,952 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $174,185,000 after purchasing an additional 1,143,464 shares in the last quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC increased its holdings in CubeSmart by 37.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 3,364,619 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $136,805,000 after purchasing an additional 914,884 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in CubeSmart by 73.6% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,726,419 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $62,260,000 after purchasing an additional 731,883 shares in the last quarter. 97.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CubeSmart Price Performance

NYSE:CUBE opened at $39.60 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $38.79 and a 200-day moving average of $38.13. The company has a market capitalization of $9.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.31, a PEG ratio of 6.18 and a beta of 1.13. CubeSmart has a 52 week low of $35.09 and a 52 week high of $44.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.04 and a current ratio of 0.04.

CubeSmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 1st were given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 1st. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.4%. CubeSmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 146.21%.

CubeSmart Company Profile

CubeSmart NYSE: CUBE is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) specializing in the ownership, operation and management of self-storage facilities across the United States. The company's portfolio comprises properties in primary and secondary markets, catering to both individual and business customers seeking flexible, short-term and long-term storage solutions. CubeSmart's facilities feature a range of unit sizes, climate-controlled options and advanced security features, supported by on-site managers and centralized customer service operations.

In addition to traditional self-storage units, CubeSmart offers specialty services such as vehicle and boat storage, retail sales of packing and moving supplies, and tenant insurance programs.

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