Short Interest in Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (NYSE:ARE) Declines By 7.8%

Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (NYSE:ARE) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,700,000 shares, a decrease of 7.8% from the November 30th total of 2,930,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,320,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on ARE shares. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Alexandria Real Estate Equities to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities from $129.00 to $124.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $133.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Citigroup lowered Alexandria Real Estate Equities from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Alexandria Real Estate Equities from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $124.82.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alexandria Real Estate Equities

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Alexandria Real Estate Equities in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities during the third quarter valued at $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities by 132.8% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 270 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities in the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities by 144.0% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 305 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. 96.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities Stock Performance

Shares of ARE stock traded down $0.25 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $97.55. The stock had a trading volume of 1,325,429 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,035,268. Alexandria Real Estate Equities has a one year low of $96.44 and a one year high of $131.36. The firm has a market cap of $17.05 billion, a PE ratio of 59.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 1.15. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $106.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $114.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities (NYSE:ARE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by ($1.42). Alexandria Real Estate Equities had a return on equity of 1.31% and a net margin of 9.62%. The business had revenue of $791.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $766.97 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.26 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Alexandria Real Estate Equities will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Monday, December 9th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the real estate investment trust to purchase up to 2.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.32 per share. This is a boost from Alexandria Real Estate Equities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $5.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.41%. Alexandria Real Estate Equities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 321.95%.

About Alexandria Real Estate Equities

Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc (NYSE: ARE), an S&P 500 company, is a best-in-class, mission-driven life science REIT making a positive and lasting impact on the world. As the pioneer of the life science real estate niche since our founding in 1994, Alexandria is the preeminent and longest-tenured owner, operator, and developer of collaborative life science, agtech, and advanced technology mega campuses in AAA innovation cluster locations, including Greater Boston, the San Francisco Bay Area, New York City, San Diego, Seattle, Maryland, and Research Triangle.