Liberty Property Trust (NYSE:LPT) had its target price increased by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $43.00 to $44.00 in a research note issued on Friday. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 0.14% from the stock’s current price.
A number of other research firms have also issued reports on LPT. Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of Liberty Property Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 4th. KeyCorp restated a “hold” rating on shares of Liberty Property Trust in a report on Tuesday, October 24th. Sandler O’Neill upgraded shares of Liberty Property Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $45.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 25th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $44.00 target price on shares of Liberty Property Trust in a report on Thursday, September 21st. Finally, ValuEngine upgraded shares of Liberty Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.75.
Liberty Property Trust (NYSE:LPT) traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $43.94. 494,100 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 737,015. The firm has a market cap of $6,480.00, a PE ratio of 18.91, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.88. Liberty Property Trust has a fifty-two week low of $37.21 and a fifty-two week high of $45.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a current ratio of 1.78.
Liberty Property Trust declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Monday, October 2nd that allows the company to repurchase $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the real estate investment trust to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.
In related news, Director David L. Lingerfelt sold 18,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.56, for a total value of $802,080.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 56,814 shares in the company, valued at $2,531,631.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.
Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Harrington Investments INC acquired a new stake in shares of Liberty Property Trust during the third quarter worth approximately $834,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Liberty Property Trust by 3.0% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 27,095 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,103,000 after buying an additional 792 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Liberty Property Trust by 21.0% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,736,798 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $152,125,000 after buying an additional 649,069 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Liberty Property Trust by 5.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,133,207 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $86,844,000 after buying an additional 119,503 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Liberty Property Trust by 231.7% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 571,800 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $23,278,000 after buying an additional 399,424 shares in the last quarter. 91.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Liberty Property Trust Company Profile
Liberty Property Trust (the Trust) is a self-administered and self-managed Maryland real estate investment trust (REIT). The Trust’s assets are owned directly or indirectly, and substantially all of the Trust’s operations are conducted directly or indirectly, by its subsidiary, Liberty Property Limited Partnership (the Operating Partnership).
