Lazard Asset Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in CubeSmart $CUBE

Lazard Asset Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of CubeSmart (NYSE:CUBE) by 34.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 306,149 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 162,316 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned 0.14% of CubeSmart worth $11,220,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CUBE. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of CubeSmart in the 4th quarter valued at about $395,968,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of CubeSmart by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,714,128 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $169,975,000 after buying an additional 52,207 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its stake in shares of CubeSmart by 36.4% during the third quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 4,283,952 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $174,185,000 after buying an additional 1,143,464 shares during the period. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC raised its holdings in CubeSmart by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 3,469,724 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $125,084,000 after acquiring an additional 105,105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in CubeSmart by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,412,567 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $123,023,000 after acquiring an additional 171,539 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.61% of the company’s stock.

CubeSmart Price Performance

CUBE stock opened at $42.39 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $40.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.49. The stock has a market cap of $9.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.85, a PEG ratio of 7.35 and a beta of 1.08. CubeSmart has a fifty-two week low of $35.09 and a fifty-two week high of $43.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

CubeSmart (NYSE:CUBE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $281.93 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $275.25 million. CubeSmart had a net margin of 28.93% and a return on equity of 11.84%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that CubeSmart will post 2.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CubeSmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 1st. CubeSmart’s payout ratio is currently 149.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on CUBE. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price target on shares of CubeSmart in a report on Monday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of CubeSmart from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Evercore set a $47.00 price objective on shares of CubeSmart in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of CubeSmart from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised CubeSmart from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.42.

CubeSmart Profile

CubeSmart (NYSE: CUBE) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) specializing in the ownership, operation and management of self-storage facilities across the United States. The company’s portfolio comprises properties in primary and secondary markets, catering to both individual and business customers seeking flexible, short-term and long-term storage solutions. CubeSmart’s facilities feature a range of unit sizes, climate-controlled options and advanced security features, supported by on-site managers and centralized customer service operations.

In addition to traditional self-storage units, CubeSmart offers specialty services such as vehicle and boat storage, retail sales of packing and moving supplies, and tenant insurance programs.