Pershing Square (NYSE:PS) Shares Down 7.5% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Pershing Square shares fell 7.5% to $50.15 in Tuesday trading, with volume down 91% from its average daily level.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: the stock carries an average “Reduce” rating and a consensus price target of $42.11, below its recent trading price.
• The company reduced its quarterly dividend to $0.103 per share from $0.122, resulting in an annualized dividend of $0.41 and a 0.9% yield.

Shares of Pershing Square Inc. (NYSE:PS - Get Free Report) were down 7.5% on Tuesday. The stock traded as low as $49.42 and last traded at $50.15. 37,179 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average daily volume of 416,353 shares. The stock had previously closed at $54.22.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Pershing Square in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $41.00 price objective on the stock. JonesTrading downgraded Pershing Square from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Pershing Square from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Tigress Financial upped their price target on Pershing Square from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Pershing Square from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $42.11.

Pershing Square Trading Down 13.3%

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $44.49. The firm has a market cap of $18.80 billion and a P/E ratio of 335.71.

Pershing Square (NYSE:PS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $68.03 million for the quarter. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Pershing Square Inc. will post 0.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pershing Square Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.1030 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. This represents a $0.41 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. This is a drop from Pershing Square's previous quarterly dividend of $0.1220. Pershing Square's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 292.86%.

Institutional Trading of Pershing Square

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pershing Square in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,702,000. Equitec Proprietary Markets LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pershing Square during the second quarter worth $3,828,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pershing Square during the second quarter worth $1,459,000. Rivernorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pershing Square during the second quarter worth $14,787,000. Finally, Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd bought a new stake in Pershing Square in the second quarter valued at about $9,858,000.

Pershing Square Company Profile

Pershing Square USA, Ltd. is a closed-end investment company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol PS. The company is designed to provide investors with long-term capital appreciation through a concentrated portfolio of investments in publicly traded businesses.

The fund is managed by Pershing Square Capital Management, L.P., an investment management firm founded and led by William A. Ackman. Its investment approach generally emphasizes detailed fundamental research, activist engagement when appropriate, and ownership of a limited number of companies that the manager believes have durable business models, strong management teams, and long-term growth potential.

Pershing Square USA primarily focuses on publicly traded companies in the United States and other developed markets, with investment decisions centered on individual business fundamentals rather than broad market exposure.

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