Ascent Group LLC Acquires 1,108 Shares of Public Storage $PSA

Key Points

• Ascent Group LLC increased its stake in Public Storage (NYSE: PSA) by 127.4% in the first quarter, now owning 1,978 shares valued at approximately $592,000.
• Public Storage reported $4.28 EPS for the latest quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, with a revenue of $1.20 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $3.00 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 4.2%, despite a high dividend payout ratio of 130.86%.

Ascent Group LLC lifted its holdings in Public Storage (NYSE:PSA - Free Report) by 127.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,978 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 1,108 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC's holdings in Public Storage were worth $592,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. raised its stake in Public Storage by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. now owns 2,084 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $624,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Shum Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Public Storage by 1.7% in the first quarter. Shum Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,089 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $625,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Public Storage by 3.1% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,295 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $388,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in Public Storage by 1.1% during the first quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,581 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,072,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ICW Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Public Storage by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,901 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,168,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. 78.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PSA. BNP Paribas upgraded Public Storage to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Public Storage from $330.00 to $320.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Public Storage from $287.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Public Storage from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Public Storage from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $340.00 to $325.00 in a report on Friday, June 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Public Storage currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $331.62.

Public Storage Price Performance

Shares of PSA traded down $2.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $292.71. The company had a trading volume of 690,770 shares, compared to its average volume of 601,191. The company has a market capitalization of $51.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.92, a P/E/G ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 1.77. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $287.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $293.56. Public Storage has a 1-year low of $256.60 and a 1-year high of $369.99.

Public Storage (NYSE:PSA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.23 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.20 billion. Public Storage had a net margin of 38.13% and a return on equity of 34.06%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.23 EPS. Public Storage has set its FY 2025 guidance at 16.450-17.00 EPS. Analysts expect that Public Storage will post 16.7 EPS for the current year.

Public Storage Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $3.00 per share. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Public Storage's payout ratio is 130.86%.

Public Storage Company Profile

Public Storage, a member of the S&P 500 and FT Global 500, is a REIT that primarily acquires, develops, owns, and operates self-storage facilities. At December 31, 2023, we had: (i) interests in 3,044 self-storage facilities located in 40 states with approximately 218 million net rentable square feet in the United States and (ii) a 35% common equity interest in Shurgard Self Storage Limited (Euronext Brussels: SHUR), which owned 275 self-storage facilities located in seven Western European nations with approximately 15 million net rentable square feet operated under the Shurgard brand.