Boston Properties (NYSE:BXP) Rating Increased to Buy at Compass Point

Compass Point upgraded shares of Boston Properties (NYSE:BXP) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has $88.00 price target on the real estate investment trust’s stock, up from their prior price target of $80.00.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on BXP. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Boston Properties from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Wedbush lifted their price objective on Boston Properties from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. StockNews.com cut Boston Properties from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays upped their price target on Boston Properties from $65.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Boston Properties in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.85.

Boston Properties Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:BXP opened at $78.53 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $82.02 and its 200 day moving average is $71.14. The company has a market cap of $12.42 billion, a PE ratio of 34.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 5.51 and a quick ratio of 5.51. Boston Properties has a 1 year low of $52.61 and a 1 year high of $90.11.

Boston Properties (NYSE:BXP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.81 by ($1.28). Boston Properties had a net margin of 10.75% and a return on equity of 4.40%. The business had revenue of $859.23 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $829.91 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.86 earnings per share. Boston Properties’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Boston Properties will post 7.1 EPS for the current year.

Boston Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.99%. Boston Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 169.70%.

Insider Transactions at Boston Properties

In related news, EVP Raymond A. Ritchey sold 21,835 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.25, for a total transaction of $1,621,248.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Peter V. Otteni sold 4,785 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.44, for a total value of $351,410.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Boston Properties by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,568,962 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,539,289,000 after purchasing an additional 122,583 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Boston Properties by 25.9% during the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,637,235 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $162,348,000 after purchasing an additional 542,610 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Boston Properties by 6.7% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,923,225 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $118,394,000 after purchasing an additional 120,650 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in Boston Properties by 32.9% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,503,687 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $92,567,000 after buying an additional 371,946 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Boston Properties by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,248,824 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $76,878,000 after buying an additional 38,048 shares in the last quarter. 98.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Boston Properties Company Profile

Boston Properties, Inc (NYSE: BXP) (BXP or the Company) is the largest publicly traded developer, owner, and manager of premier workplaces in the United States, concentrated in six dynamic gateway markets – Boston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, DC. BXP has delivered places that power progress for our clients and communities for more than 50 years.