Short Interest in Healthcare Realty Trust Incorporated (NYSE:HR) Expands By 18.7%

Healthcare Realty Trust Incorporated (NYSE:HR - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest in 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. Approximately 4.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,880,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.9 days.

Healthcare Realty Trust Trading Up 2.2%

Healthcare Realty Trust stock traded up $0.32 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $14.50. The stock had a trading volume of 4,171,126 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,142,448. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $15.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.34. Healthcare Realty Trust has a 12 month low of $14.09 and a 12 month high of $18.90. The stock has a market cap of $5.09 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.14 and a beta of 0.92.

Healthcare Realty Trust (NYSE:HR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.39. The business had revenue of $288.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $297.39 million. Healthcare Realty Trust had a negative return on equity of 11.20% and a negative net margin of 51.60%. The business's revenue was down 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.39 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Healthcare Realty Trust will post 1.59 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.55%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Healthcare Realty Trust's payout ratio is -113.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Healthcare Realty Trust news, Director Thomas N. Bohjalian acquired 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $14.71 per share, with a total value of $36,775.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 56,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $831,144.42. This trade represents a 4.63% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Healthcare Realty Trust during the fourth quarter worth approximately $440,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Healthcare Realty Trust by 3,419.8% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 28,510 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $483,000 after acquiring an additional 27,700 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in Healthcare Realty Trust by 22.4% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,772,522 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $46,993,000 after purchasing an additional 508,045 shares in the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. lifted its position in Healthcare Realty Trust by 201.4% in the fourth quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 1,729,651 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $29,318,000 after purchasing an additional 1,155,745 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Healthcare Realty Trust during the 4th quarter valued at $410,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wedbush cut their price objective on Healthcare Realty Trust from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Healthcare Realty Trust from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 31st. Scotiabank reduced 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 research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Healthcare Realty Trust from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $16.80.

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.