Short Interest in Public Storage (NYSE:PSA) Grows By 32.6%

Public Storage (NYSE:PSA) saw a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 6,779,269 shares, an increase of 32.6% from the March 15th total of 5,113,900 shares. Approximately 4.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,594,656 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.3 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Public Storage

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. First Pacific Financial bought a new stake in Public Storage during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Public Storage in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Public Storage by 111.1% in the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 95 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Bayban bought a new stake in shares of Public Storage in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new stake in shares of Public Storage in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. 78.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Public Storage Price Performance

Public Storage stock traded up $7.77 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $309.51. 988,223 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,233,413. Public Storage has a one year low of $256.54 and a one year high of $312.95. The stock has a market cap of $54.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $291.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $283.68.

Public Storage Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th were given a dividend of $3.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. Public Storage’s payout ratio is presently 133.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Public Storage from $345.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Public Storage from $295.00 to $291.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Public Storage from $319.00 to $321.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Wolfe Research cut shares of Public Storage from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Public Storage from $293.00 to $276.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Public Storage currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $308.22.

Public Storage Company Profile

Public Storage (NYSE: PSA) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that specializes in self-storage services. Headquartered in Glendale, California, the company was founded in the early 1970s and has grown through development and acquisitions to become one of the largest owner-operators of self-storage facilities in the United States. It is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker PSA.

The company’s core business is the ownership, operation and management of self-storage properties that serve both residential and commercial customers.