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

Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (NYSE:ARE) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in 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 trading volume of 1,320,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities Stock Performance

Shares of ARE traded down $0.25 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $97.55. 1,325,429 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,035,268. Alexandria Real Estate Equities has a twelve month low of $96.44 and a twelve month high of $131.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.20 and a quick ratio of 0.20. The company has a market capitalization of $17.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.48, a PEG ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 1.15. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $106.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $114.31.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities (NYSE:ARE) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 9.62% and a return on equity of 1.31%. The firm had revenue of $791.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $766.97 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.26 EPS. Alexandria Real Estate Equities’s quarterly revenue was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Alexandria Real Estate Equities will post 9.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Monday, December 9th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the real estate investment trust to purchase up to 2.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $1.32 dividend. This represents a $5.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a boost from Alexandria Real Estate Equities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Alexandria Real Estate Equities’s payout ratio is 321.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ARE. Citigroup cut shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $125.00 in a report on Friday, September 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Alexandria Real Estate Equities from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $133.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Alexandria Real Estate Equities from $125.00 to $114.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $110.00 price target (down previously from $120.00) on shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $124.82.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

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.