CubeSmart (NYSE:CUBE) Cut to “Hold” at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of CubeSmart (NYSE:CUBE) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Thursday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $46.00 price target on the real estate investment trust’s stock, down from their previous price target of $57.00.

CUBE has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of CubeSmart from $53.00 to $52.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Barclays reduced their price target on CubeSmart from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 28th. UBS Group downgraded CubeSmart from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $53.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on CubeSmart from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on CubeSmart from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.91.

CubeSmart Stock Performance

NYSE:CUBE opened at $42.32 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.41. The stock has a market cap of $9.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.91, a PEG ratio of 13.00 and a beta of 0.84. CubeSmart has a 1-year low of $39.80 and a 1-year high of $55.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

CubeSmart (NYSE:CUBE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by ($0.24). CubeSmart had a return on equity of 14.33% and a net margin of 37.79%. The firm had revenue of $270.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $267.49 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.68 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that CubeSmart will post 2.63 earnings per share for the current year.

CubeSmart Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. This is a positive change from CubeSmart’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.91%. CubeSmart’s payout ratio is 117.51%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in CubeSmart by 326.3% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,676,177 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $90,229,000 after acquiring an additional 1,282,995 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of CubeSmart by 14.0% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,089,845 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $273,986,000 after purchasing an additional 624,661 shares during the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its stake in shares of CubeSmart by 12.5% in the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 2,728,220 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $123,234,000 after buying an additional 303,347 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of CubeSmart by 38.2% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 762,172 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,427,000 after buying an additional 210,871 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in CubeSmart by 46.6% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 546,274 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $29,406,000 after buying an additional 173,683 shares during the last quarter. 97.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About CubeSmart

CubeSmart is a self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust. The Company's self-storage properties are designed to offer affordable, easily accessible and, in most locations, climate-controlled storage space for residential and commercial customers. According to the 2023 Self-Storage Almanac, CubeSmart is one of the top three owners and operators of self-storage properties in the United States.