Healthcare Realty Trust Incorporated (NYSE:HR) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Healthcare Realty Trust Incorporated (NYSE:HR - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 14,170,000 shares, an increase of 18.7% from the April 30th total of 11,940,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,880,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.9 days. Currently, 4.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Healthcare Realty Trust from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Wedbush reduced their target price on shares of Healthcare Realty Trust from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 5th. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Healthcare Realty Trust from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Healthcare Realty Trust from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, May 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $16.80.

Healthcare Realty Trust Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of HR traded up $0.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $14.46. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,876,829 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,139,304. The company's 50-day moving average is $15.19 and its 200-day moving average is $16.30. Healthcare Realty Trust has a 52-week low of $14.09 and a 52-week high of $18.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.12 and a beta of 0.88.

Healthcare Realty Trust (NYSE:HR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.39. Healthcare Realty Trust had a negative net margin of 51.60% and a negative return on equity of 11.20%. The firm had revenue of $288.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $297.39 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.39 EPS. The company's revenue was down 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Healthcare Realty Trust will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Healthcare Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.58%. Healthcare Realty Trust's payout ratio is -113.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Healthcare Realty Trust news, Director Thomas N. Bohjalian purchased 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $14.71 per share, for a total transaction of $36,775.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 56,502 shares of the company's stock, valued at $831,144.42. The trade was a 4.63% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Healthcare Realty Trust

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HR. Starboard Value LP purchased a new stake in Healthcare Realty Trust during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $342,110,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in shares of Healthcare Realty Trust during the first quarter worth $100,817,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Healthcare Realty Trust during the fourth quarter worth $76,825,000. Rush Island Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Healthcare Realty Trust by 21.2% during the fourth quarter. Rush Island Management LP now owns 15,681,440 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $265,800,000 after buying an additional 2,747,848 shares during the period. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Healthcare Realty Trust during the fourth quarter worth $39,337,000.

Healthcare Realty Trust Company Profile

Healthcare Realty Trust, Inc provides real estate investment services. It owns, leases, manages, acquires, finances, develops, and redevelops income-producing real estate properties associated primarily with the delivery of outpatient healthcare services throughout the United States of America. The company was founded by David R.