Urban Edge Properties (NYSE:UE) Short Interest Up 25.5% in October

Urban Edge Properties (NYSE:UE) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,490,000 shares, a growth of 25.5% from the September 30th total of 2,780,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 811,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.3 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Urban Edge Properties by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,546,753 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $320,302,000 after acquiring an additional 191,258 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Urban Edge Properties by 12.7% in the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 4,572,054 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $78,959,000 after acquiring an additional 516,317 shares during the period. Centersquare Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Urban Edge Properties by 15.8% in the 1st quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 2,171,758 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $36,334,000 after acquiring an additional 296,324 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Urban Edge Properties by 98.6% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,006,915 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,659,000 after acquiring an additional 996,287 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Urban Edge Properties by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,757,044 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $32,452,000 after acquiring an additional 117,152 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Urban Edge Properties Stock Performance

Urban Edge Properties stock traded up $0.35 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $22.16. The stock had a trading volume of 648,139 shares, compared to its average volume of 880,377. The company has a 50-day moving average of $21.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.16. The company has a quick ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company has a market cap of $2.69 billion, a PE ratio of 8.83 and a beta of 1.55. Urban Edge Properties has a fifty-two week low of $14.52 and a fifty-two week high of $22.31.

Urban Edge Properties (NYSE:UE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.32 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $106.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $110.34 million. Urban Edge Properties had a net margin of 66.89% and a return on equity of 24.65%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Urban Edge Properties will post 1.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Urban Edge Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Urban Edge Properties’s dividend payout ratio is 27.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Urban Edge Properties from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. StockNews.com upgraded Urban Edge Properties from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd.

About Urban Edge Properties

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.