CubeSmart (NYSE:CUBE) Short Interest Down 9.2% in March

CubeSmart (NYSE:CUBE) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,300,000 shares, a decline of 9.2% from the March 15th total of 5,840,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,500,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.5 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its stake in CubeSmart by 461.1% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 20,244 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,053,000 after acquiring an additional 16,636 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of CubeSmart during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $227,000. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can increased its position in shares of CubeSmart by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 191,579 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $10,354,000 after purchasing an additional 10,933 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of CubeSmart by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 11,869 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $618,000 after purchasing an additional 810 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its position in shares of CubeSmart by 63.5% during the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 536,244 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $27,901,000 after purchasing an additional 208,256 shares during the last quarter. 97.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CubeSmart Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CUBE remained flat at $42.21 on Wednesday. The stock had a trading volume of 899,369 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,486,186. CubeSmart has a 1 year low of $33.17 and a 1 year high of $47.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $44.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.10. The company has a market capitalization of $9.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.32 and a beta of 0.69.

CubeSmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 1st were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 28th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.83%. CubeSmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 112.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CUBE. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded CubeSmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $38.00 to $53.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on CubeSmart in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a “sell” rating and a $40.00 price target on the stock. Barclays assumed coverage on CubeSmart in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their price target on CubeSmart from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on CubeSmart from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.33.

CubeSmart Company Profile

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.