Short Interest in Urban Edge Properties (NYSE:UE) Declines By 16.7%

Urban Edge Properties (NYSE:UE) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 3,050,000 shares, a decrease of 16.7% from the February 13th total of 3,660,000 shares. Approximately 2.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 847,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.6 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in Urban Edge Properties in the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Urban Edge Properties during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Urban Edge Properties by 76.9% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,367 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 1,029 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Urban Edge Properties by 858.7% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,969 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 3,555 shares in the last quarter. Finally, USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in shares of Urban Edge Properties in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $93,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Urban Edge Properties Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE UE traded up $0.11 on Tuesday, reaching $18.76. 354,498 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 817,276. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.35 billion, a PE ratio of 31.81 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a 50 day moving average of $20.17 and a 200 day moving average of $21.31. Urban Edge Properties has a fifty-two week low of $15.81 and a fifty-two week high of $23.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Urban Edge Properties (NYSE:UE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.25. Urban Edge Properties had a return on equity of 5.59% and a net margin of 16.31%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Urban Edge Properties will post 1.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Urban Edge Properties Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.05%. This is a boost from Urban Edge Properties’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Urban Edge Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 128.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Urban Edge Properties from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. StockNews.com downgraded Urban Edge Properties from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th.

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.