Public Storage (NYSE:PSA) Stock Rating Cut to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Public Storage (NYSE:PSA) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on PSA. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Public Storage in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Public Storage from $350.00 to $351.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Public Storage in a report on Friday, October 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $317.00 target price for the company. Evercore set a $308.00 target price on shares of Public Storage in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Public Storage from $316.00 to $319.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $323.68.

Public Storage Price Performance

Shares of PSA opened at $324.95 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 1.00. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $298.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $302.79. Public Storage has a 52-week low of $256.54 and a 52-week high of $335.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.71 billion, a PE ratio of 34.03, a P/E/G ratio of 4.84 and a beta of 0.94.

Public Storage (NYSE:PSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.49 by ($0.80). The company had revenue of $1.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. Public Storage had a return on equity of 29.93% and a net margin of 37.76%. The firm’s revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.31 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Public Storage will post 16.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Public Storage Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th were issued a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $12.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. Public Storage’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 125.65%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Nathaniel A. Vitan sold 1,414 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.53, for a total value of $463,127.42. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Public Storage

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Public Storage during the second quarter valued at approximately $5,495,077,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Public Storage by 3.1% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,280,540 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $617,720,000 after buying an additional 67,787 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Public Storage in the 2nd quarter valued at $601,650,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC purchased a new stake in Public Storage in the 2nd quarter valued at $558,904,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in Public Storage in the 2nd quarter valued at $400,776,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.79% of the company’s stock.

Public Storage Company Profile

Public Storage (NYSE: PSA) is a real estate investment trust focused on the ownership, operation and development of self-storage facilities. The company rents storage units to residential and business customers, offering solutions for household belongings, commercial inventory, records, vehicles and other personal property. Many locations provide features such as climate-controlled units, electronic access, online reservations and moving and packing supplies.

Founded in 1972, Public Storage has grown into one of the largest self-storage operators in the United States.