Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. Takes Position in Urban Edge Properties (NYSE:UE)

Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. purchased a new position in Urban Edge Properties (NYSE:UE) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 14,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $301,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of UE. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Urban Edge Properties by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,962,196 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $429,187,000 after buying an additional 213,478 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Urban Edge Properties by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,747,456 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $317,070,000 after purchasing an additional 835,885 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Urban Edge Properties by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,191,932 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $68,640,000 after purchasing an additional 82,324 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Urban Edge Properties by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,169,598 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $68,146,000 after purchasing an additional 203,569 shares during the period. Finally, Resolution Capital Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Urban Edge Properties by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Resolution Capital Ltd now owns 2,897,436 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $62,295,000 after buying an additional 71,290 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Urban Edge Properties from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th.

Urban Edge Properties Stock Up 1.3%

UE stock opened at $18.99 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.30. Urban Edge Properties has a twelve month low of $15.66 and a twelve month high of $23.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.39 billion, a PE ratio of 32.19 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Urban Edge Properties (NYSE:UE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.01. Urban Edge Properties had a net margin of 16.31% and a return on equity of 5.59%. The business had revenue of $118.17 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $119.05 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Urban Edge Properties will post 1.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Urban Edge Properties Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.00%. Urban Edge Properties’s payout ratio is currently 118.75%.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel Robert C. Milton sold 26,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.78, for a total value of $488,280.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Urban Edge Properties Profile

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.