Zuckerman Investment Group LLC Makes New Investment in CareTrust REIT, Inc. $CTRE

Key Points

• Zuckerman Investment Group LLC has acquired 10,250 shares of CareTrust REIT, Inc. for approximately $293,000 in its first quarter, reflecting growing institutional interest in the company.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Allspring Global Investments and Principal Financial Group, have increased their stakes in CareTrust REIT, with institutional ownership now at 87.77%.
• Analysts are optimistic about CareTrust REIT, with upgrade recommendations from firms like Wells Fargo and KeyCorp, setting an average price target of $31.50 for the stock.

Zuckerman Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CareTrust REIT, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTRE - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 10,250 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $293,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CTRE. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in CareTrust REIT by 4.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,636,981 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $818,445,000 after acquiring an additional 1,336,348 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in CareTrust REIT by 2.4% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,960,372 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $84,607,000 after buying an additional 68,693 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in CareTrust REIT by 149.6% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,708,664 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $73,269,000 after buying an additional 1,623,297 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in CareTrust REIT by 5.6% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,606,842 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $74,504,000 after buying an additional 137,202 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in CareTrust REIT by 15.4% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,443,829 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $66,105,000 after acquiring an additional 325,217 shares during the last quarter. 87.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on CTRE shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on CareTrust REIT from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of CareTrust REIT in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their target price on CareTrust REIT from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $32.50.

CareTrust REIT Price Performance

NASDAQ:CTRE traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $34.40. The stock had a trading volume of 2,124,496 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,956,533. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $31.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $29.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.85. CareTrust REIT, Inc. has a one year low of $24.79 and a one year high of $34.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 3.82 and a current ratio of 3.82.

CareTrust REIT Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were given a $0.335 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. CareTrust REIT's payout ratio is presently 111.67%.

CareTrust REIT Profile

CareTrust REIT, Inc's (CareTrust REIT or the Company) primary business consists of acquiring, financing, developing and owning real property to be leased to third-party tenants in the healthcare sector. As of March 31, 2024, the Company owned directly or through a joint venture and leased to independent operators, 228 skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), multi-service campuses, assisted living facilities (ALFs) and independent living facilities (ILFs) consisting of 24,189 operational beds and units located in 29 states with the highest concentration of properties by rental income located in California and Texas.