Veris Residential (NYSE:VRE) Cut to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Veris Residential (NYSE:VRE) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on VRE. Evercore ISI reiterated an “in-line” rating and set a $18.00 target price (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Veris Residential in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Veris Residential from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Veris Residential currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.50.

Veris Residential Stock Performance

NYSE:VRE opened at $15.02 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.40 billion, a PE ratio of -46.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.23. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $15.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.56. Veris Residential has a 12 month low of $14.12 and a 12 month high of $18.85.

Veris Residential (NYSE:VRE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $67.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $69.24 million. Veris Residential had a negative return on equity of 2.62% and a negative net margin of 11.02%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Veris Residential will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Veris Residential Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%. Veris Residential’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -100.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veris Residential

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRE. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Veris Residential in the first quarter valued at about $34,817,000. Argosy Lionbridge Management LLC acquired a new stake in Veris Residential in the fourth quarter valued at about $19,028,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Veris Residential by 49.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,524,968 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,360,000 after purchasing an additional 501,867 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Veris Residential by 72.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,006,694 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,033,000 after purchasing an additional 423,482 shares during the period. Finally, Boothbay Fund Management LLC lifted its position in Veris Residential by 961.0% in the first quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 402,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,812,000 after purchasing an additional 364,670 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.04% of the company’s stock.

Veris Residential Company Profile

Veris Residential, Inc is a forward-thinking, environmentally and socially conscious real estate investment trust (REIT) that primarily owns, operates, acquires and develops holistically-inspired, Class A multifamily properties that meet the sustainability-conscious lifestyle needs of today’s residents while seeking to positively impact the communities it serves and the planet at large.