Healthcare Realty Trust Incorporated (NYSE:HR) Short Interest Up 29.8% in November

Healthcare Realty Trust Incorporated (NYSE:HR) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 14,680,000 shares, a growth of 29.8% from the October 31st total of 11,310,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,610,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.1 days.

Insider Transactions at Healthcare Realty Trust

In other Healthcare Realty Trust news, Director John Knox Singleton bought 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $18.24 per share, for a total transaction of $118,560.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 57,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,041,175.68. The trade was a 12.85 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas N. Bohjalian bought 7,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $17.39 per share, for a total transaction of $134,772.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 50,002 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $869,534.78. This represents a 18.34 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Healthcare Realty Trust

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of HR. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Healthcare Realty Trust by 7.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,856,286 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $96,513,000 after purchasing an additional 395,243 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in shares of Healthcare Realty Trust by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 4,784,186 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $78,843,000 after acquiring an additional 301,747 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Healthcare Realty Trust by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,492,116 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $74,030,000 after purchasing an additional 216,662 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of Healthcare Realty Trust by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 2,367,735 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $39,020,000 after purchasing an additional 103,259 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Healthcare Realty Trust in the 3rd quarter worth $40,392,000.

Healthcare Realty Trust Trading Up 0.1 %

Healthcare Realty Trust stock traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $18.34. The company had a trading volume of 56,833 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,508,766. Healthcare Realty Trust has a 12 month low of $12.77 and a 12 month high of $18.90. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $17.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.36. The company has a market capitalization of $6.50 billion, a PE ratio of -11.59 and a beta of 0.91.

Healthcare Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. Healthcare Realty Trust’s payout ratio is -78.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on HR shares. Wedbush boosted their target price on Healthcare Realty Trust from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Healthcare Realty Trust from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $17.00 target price (up from $16.00) on shares of Healthcare Realty Trust in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Healthcare Realty Trust presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.17.

About Healthcare Realty Trust

Healthcare Realty (NYSE: HR) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns and operates medical outpatient buildings primarily located around market-leading hospital campuses. The Company selectively grows its portfolio through property acquisition and development. As the first and largest REIT to specialize in medical outpatient buildings, Healthcare Realty's portfolio includes more than 700 properties totaling over 40 million square feet concentrated in 15 growth markets.