Franklin Resources Inc. Increases Stock Position in Urban Edge Properties (NYSE:UE)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Urban Edge Properties (NYSE:UE - Free Report) by 64.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 186,704 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 73,472 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.15% of Urban Edge Properties worth $4,014,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Urban Edge Properties by 76.9% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,367 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 1,029 shares during the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new stake in Urban Edge Properties during the fourth quarter valued at about $93,000. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Urban Edge Properties by 42.1% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,141 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $111,000 after buying an additional 1,524 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Urban Edge Properties in the 3rd quarter valued at about $206,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Urban Edge Properties by 22.8% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 9,760 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $209,000 after acquiring an additional 1,813 shares during the period. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Urban Edge Properties Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE UE traded up $0.33 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $18.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 127,568 shares, compared to its average volume of 909,896. Urban Edge Properties has a 12 month low of $15.66 and a 12 month high of $23.85. The stock has a market cap of $2.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.90 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.81.

Urban Edge Properties (NYSE:UE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.25. Urban Edge Properties had a net margin of 16.31% and a return on equity of 5.59%. On average, analysts anticipate that Urban Edge Properties will post 1.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Urban Edge Properties Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.17%. This is a boost from Urban Edge Properties's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Urban Edge Properties's payout ratio is presently 128.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on UE. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Urban Edge Properties from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Urban Edge Properties from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th.

About Urban Edge Properties

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.