CubeSmart (NYSE:CUBE) Reaches New 12-Month Low After Analyst Downgrade

CubeSmart (NYSE:CUBE) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday after Barclays lowered their price target on the stock from $54.00 to $50.00. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. CubeSmart traded as low as $39.80 and last traded at $39.92, with a volume of 791449 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $40.23.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of CubeSmart from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on CubeSmart from $56.00 to $53.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on CubeSmart from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on CubeSmart from $53.00 to $52.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded CubeSmart from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $46.00 to $45.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CubeSmart

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CUBE. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of CubeSmart by 32.9% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 158,472 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,531,000 after buying an additional 39,270 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in CubeSmart by 13.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 319,316 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $15,950,000 after acquiring an additional 36,919 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in CubeSmart in the third quarter worth approximately $628,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in CubeSmart by 127.1% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 33,013 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,777,000 after acquiring an additional 18,475 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in CubeSmart by 46.6% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 546,274 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $29,406,000 after acquiring an additional 173,683 shares during the last quarter. 97.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CubeSmart Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.26. The company has a market cap of $9.20 billion, a PE ratio of 22.98, a P/E/G ratio of 13.00 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

CubeSmart (NYSE:CUBE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by ($0.24). The firm had revenue of $270.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $267.49 million. CubeSmart had a net margin of 37.79% and a return on equity of 14.33%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that CubeSmart will post 2.63 EPS for the current year.

CubeSmart Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. This is a boost from CubeSmart’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. CubeSmart’s payout ratio is 117.51%.

About CubeSmart

CubeSmart is a self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust. The Company's self-storage properties are designed to offer affordable, easily accessible and, in most locations, climate-controlled storage space for residential and commercial customers. According to the 2023 Self-Storage Almanac, CubeSmart is one of the top three owners and operators of self-storage properties in the United States.