AQR Capital Management LLC Acquires 45,985 Shares of CubeSmart $CUBE

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in CubeSmart by 36.1% during the first quarter, now owning 173,484 shares valued at approximately $7.34 million.
• CubeSmart's latest quarterly earnings topped analysts' estimates, reporting $0.65 EPS on revenue of $282.30 million, marking a 6.0% year-over-year growth.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share, representing an annualized yield of 5.0% with a dividend payout ratio of 126.83%.

AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of CubeSmart (NYSE:CUBE - Free Report) by 36.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 173,484 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 45,985 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.08% of CubeSmart worth $7,344,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CubeSmart in the 4th quarter worth approximately $379,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of CubeSmart by 29.6% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 189,938 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $8,138,000 after buying an additional 43,414 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of CubeSmart by 71.2% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 985,079 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $42,211,000 after buying an additional 409,701 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of CubeSmart by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 1,239,118 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $53,096,000 after buying an additional 127,086 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of CubeSmart in the 4th quarter valued at $2,338,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.61% of the company's stock.

CubeSmart Stock Performance

Shares of CubeSmart stock traded up $0.28 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $41.28. 2,436,417 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,553,028. The stock's fifty day moving average is $40.60 and its 200 day moving average is $41.24. The stock has a market cap of $9.41 billion, a PE ratio of 25.17, a P/E/G ratio of 9.13 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.06 and a current ratio of 0.06. CubeSmart has a 12 month low of $34.24 and a 12 month high of $55.14.

CubeSmart (NYSE:CUBE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.02. CubeSmart had a net margin of 35.44% and a return on equity of 13.12%. The firm had revenue of $282.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $275.71 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.64 EPS. CubeSmart's revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. CubeSmart has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 0.640-0.660 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 2.540-2.600 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that CubeSmart will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

CubeSmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 1st. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.0%. CubeSmart's dividend payout ratio is currently 126.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of CubeSmart from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Monday. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of CubeSmart from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of CubeSmart from $48.00 to $47.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 4th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of CubeSmart to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of CubeSmart from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $46.00.

CubeSmart Company Profile

CubeSmart is a self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust. The Company's self-storage properties are designed to offer affordable, easily accessible and, in most locations, climate-controlled storage space for residential and commercial customers. According to the 2023 Self-Storage Almanac, CubeSmart is one of the top three owners and operators of self-storage properties in the United States.