Jefferies Financial Group Downgrades Healthcare Realty Trust (NYSE:HR) to Hold

Healthcare Realty Trust (NYSE:HR) was downgraded by investment analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $17.00 price objective on the real estate investment trust’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $19.00. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective points to a potential upside of 2.60% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $17.00 price target (up from $16.00) on shares of Healthcare Realty Trust in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Wedbush cut shares of Healthcare Realty Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $18.00 to $16.00 in a research note on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Healthcare Realty Trust from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $19.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.14.

Healthcare Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HR opened at $16.57 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $17.49 and a 200-day moving average of $17.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.49 and a beta of 0.93. Healthcare Realty Trust has a fifty-two week low of $12.77 and a fifty-two week high of $18.90.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Thomas N. Bohjalian acquired 7,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $17.39 per share, for a total transaction of $134,772.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 50,002 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $869,534.78. This represents a 18.34 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Robert E. Hull sold 10,000 shares of Healthcare Realty Trust stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.48, for a total value of $174,800.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 171,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,996,072. This represents a 5.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have purchased 18,750 shares of company stock valued at $323,723 over the last ninety days. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Healthcare Realty Trust

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HR. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Healthcare Realty Trust by 38.1% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,276 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 628 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of Healthcare Realty Trust by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 24,912 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $452,000 after acquiring an additional 823 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Healthcare Realty Trust by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 81,598 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,345,000 after purchasing an additional 848 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its position in shares of Healthcare Realty Trust by 1.4% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 66,654 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,098,000 after purchasing an additional 929 shares during the period. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in Healthcare Realty Trust by 3.6% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 30,358 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $551,000 after purchasing an additional 1,062 shares in the last quarter.

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.