Public Storage (NYSE:PSA) Reaches New 52-Week High - Here's Why

Key Points

• Public Storage reached a new 52-week high of $332.50, above its previous close of $324.02, supported by recent analyst price-target increases.
• Analysts remain mixed: seven rate the stock a Buy and fourteen recommend Hold, resulting in an overall “Hold” rating and an average price target of $325.37.
• The REIT beat quarterly earnings expectations with EPS of $2.71 versus $2.42 expected and maintains a $3.00 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 3.6% annualized yield.

Public Storage (NYSE:PSA - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $332.50 and last traded at $332.5630, with a volume of 106925 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $324.02.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PSA. Weiss Ratings raised Public Storage from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Public Storage from $342.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Public Storage from $301.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Public Storage from $302.00 to $338.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Public Storage from $301.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Public Storage presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $325.37.

Public Storage Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.56. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $315.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $300.52. The company has a market cap of $58.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.38, a PEG ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.96.

Public Storage (NYSE:PSA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.42 by $0.29. Public Storage had a return on equity of 37.78% and a net margin of 39.16%.The business had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.22 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.12 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Public Storage will post 16.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Public Storage Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a dividend of $3.00 per share. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Public Storage's dividend payout ratio is currently 123.84%.

Insider Transactions at Public Storage

In other Public Storage news, insider Nathaniel A. Vitan sold 950 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $324.81, for a total value of $308,569.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 1,414 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $459,281.34. This trade represents a 40.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 11.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Public Storage

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Public Storage by 25.3% in the fourth quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 18,610 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $4,829,000 after purchasing an additional 3,763 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Public Storage by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 289,675 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $75,171,000 after acquiring an additional 9,618 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Public Storage by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 246,002 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $63,838,000 after purchasing an additional 12,444 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Public Storage by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 458,815 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $118,576,000 after buying an additional 25,353 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in Public Storage by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,951,779 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $506,487,000 after purchasing an additional 83,916 shares during the last quarter. 78.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Public Storage

Public Storage NYSE: PSA is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that specializes in self-storage services. Headquartered in Glendale, California, the company was founded in the early 1970s and has grown through development and acquisitions to become one of the largest owner-operators of self-storage facilities in the United States. It is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker PSA.

The company's core business is the ownership, operation and management of self-storage properties that serve both residential and commercial customers.

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