Public Storage (NYSE:PSA) Short Interest Up 32.6% in March

Public Storage (NYSE:PSA) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 6,779,269 shares, an increase of 32.6% from the March 15th total of 5,113,900 shares. Approximately 4.3% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,594,656 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.3 days.

Public Storage Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of Public Storage stock traded up $7.77 on Friday, hitting $309.51. The company had a trading volume of 988,223 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,233,413. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.31, a P/E/G ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 1.02. Public Storage has a twelve month low of $256.54 and a twelve month high of $312.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $291.70 and a 200-day moving average of $283.68.

Public Storage Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th were given a $3.00 dividend. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. Public Storage’s payout ratio is currently 133.04%.

Institutional Trading of Public Storage

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Public Storage by 3.1% in the first quarter. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC now owns 18,212 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,933,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Public Storage by 60.9% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 106,700 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $28,903,000 after purchasing an additional 40,380 shares in the last quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Public Storage in the first quarter worth $231,000. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Public Storage by 16.2% in the first quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,107 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $300,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Purpose Unlimited Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Public Storage in the fourth quarter worth $467,000. Institutional investors own 78.79% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PSA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Public Storage from $293.00 to $276.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Public Storage from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $330.00 to $295.00 in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Bank of America cut shares of Public Storage from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $310.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Public Storage from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $285.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Public Storage in a report on Monday, March 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Public Storage currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $308.22.

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.