Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Holdings in Urban Edge Properties (NYSE:UE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Urban Edge Properties (NYSE:UE - Free Report) by 3.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 718,055 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 20,835 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.57% of Urban Edge Properties worth $13,643,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in shares of Urban Edge Properties during the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Urban Edge Properties during the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Urban Edge Properties by 858.7% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,969 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 3,555 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Urban Edge Properties during the 4th quarter valued at about $206,000. Finally, Yoffe Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Urban Edge Properties during the 4th quarter valued at about $224,000. Institutional investors own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Urban Edge Properties Price Performance

Shares of UE traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $18.91. 668,950 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 904,969. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $18.53 and a 200-day moving average of $19.17. Urban Edge Properties has a 52 week low of $15.66 and a 52 week high of $23.85. The stock has a market cap of $2.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.55 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 2.29.

Urban Edge Properties (NYSE:UE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $118.17 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $119.05 million. Urban Edge Properties had a net margin of 17.23% and a return on equity of 5.88%. On average, analysts forecast that Urban Edge Properties will post 1.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Urban Edge Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were given a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. Urban Edge Properties's dividend payout ratio is 118.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Urban Edge Properties from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Robert C. Milton sold 26,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.78, for a total transaction of $488,280.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.40% of the company's stock.

Urban Edge Properties Profile

Urban Edge Properties is a NYSE listed real estate investment trust focused on owning, managing, acquiring, developing, and redeveloping retail real estate in urban communities, primarily in the Washington, DC to Boston corridor. Urban Edge owns 76 properties totaling 17.1 million square feet of gross leasable area.