Virtu Financial LLC Makes New Investment in Public Storage (NYSE:PSA)

Key Points

• Virtu Financial LLC invested $1.85 million in Public Storage (NYSE:PSA), acquiring 6,183 shares during the first quarter.
• Public Storage reported an EPS of $4.28 for the last quarter, beating the consensus estimate by $0.05, with revenues up 2.4% year-over-year.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on PSA stock, with target prices adjusted between $309.00 and $380.00, and an average rating of "Moderate Buy."

Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Public Storage (NYSE:PSA - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 6,183 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $1,850,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Shum Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Public Storage by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Shum Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,089 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $625,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC increased its stake in Public Storage by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 4,298 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,287,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in 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 worth $388,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in Public Storage by 1.1% in 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 acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Advisors Network LLC grew its position in Public Storage by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 3,067 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $918,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. 78.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PSA. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Public Storage to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Public Storage from $368.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Public Storage from $305.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on shares of Public Storage in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $331.00 target price for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Public Storage from $308.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $335.43.

Public Storage Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE PSA traded up $0.67 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $280.42. 744,295 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 914,184. Public Storage has a 12-month low of $256.60 and a 12-month high of $369.99. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $290.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $295.17. The firm has a market cap of $49.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.58, a P/E/G ratio of 4.64 and a beta of 0.86.

Public Storage (NYSE:PSA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.23 by $0.05. Public Storage had a net margin of 38.13% and a return on equity of 34.06%. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.23 earnings per share. Public Storage's quarterly revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Public Storage will post 16.7 earnings per share for the current year.

About Public Storage

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.