Digital Realty Trust (NYSE:DLR) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.11 EPS

Key Points

• Digital Realty Trust reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.78 by $0.11.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.22 per share, with an annualized yield of 2.8% and a dividend payout ratio of 128.08%.
• Digital Realty Trust's stock recently traded at $175.44 with a market cap of $59.83 billion, and analysts have issued a consensus price target of $193.05 for the stock.

Digital Realty Trust (NYSE:DLR - Get Free Report) issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The real estate investment trust reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.11, Zacks reports. Digital Realty Trust had a net margin of 23.98% and a return on equity of 6.46%.

Digital Realty Trust Stock Performance

Digital Realty Trust stock traded up $3.03 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $175.44. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,507,834 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,972,014. The firm has a market cap of $59.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.05, a PEG ratio of 4.83 and a beta of 0.96. Digital Realty Trust has a twelve month low of $129.95 and a twelve month high of $198.00. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $170.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $168.29. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Digital Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Digital Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 128.08%.

Insider Activity at Digital Realty Trust

In other news, CEO Andrew Power sold 53,269 shares of Digital Realty Trust stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.16, for a total value of $9,330,598.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Digital Realty Trust

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bison Wealth LLC boosted its position in Digital Realty Trust by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 2,653 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $471,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of Digital Realty Trust by 105.8% during the second quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 5,994 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,045,000 after acquiring an additional 110,131 shares during the last quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC increased its holdings in shares of Digital Realty Trust by 64.8% in the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 5,794 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,010,000 after acquiring an additional 2,279 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Digital Realty Trust by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,784 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $972,000 after purchasing an additional 584 shares during the period. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Digital Realty Trust by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,993 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $870,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. 99.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Guggenheim assumed coverage on Digital Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Digital Realty Trust from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Digital Realty Trust from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $194.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Digital Realty Trust from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on Digital Realty Trust from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Digital Realty Trust presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $193.05.

About Digital Realty Trust

Digital Realty Trust, Inc operates as a real estate investment trust, which engages in the provision of data center, colocation and interconnection solutions. It serves the following industries: artificial intelligence (AI), networks, cloud, digital media, mobile, financial services, healthcare, and gaming.

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