Stag Industrial (NYSE:STAG) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Stag Industrial (NYSE:STAG) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Sunday morning.

STAG has been the subject of several other reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on Stag Industrial from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Stag Industrial from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Stag Industrial in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Stag Industrial from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Stag Industrial from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Stag Industrial has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.89.

Stag Industrial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:STAG opened at $38.59 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.21 billion, a PE ratio of 29.68 and a beta of 0.95. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $37.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.20. Stag Industrial has a twelve month low of $28.61 and a twelve month high of $39.57.

Stag Industrial (NYSE:STAG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.02. Stag Industrial had a net margin of 29.24% and a return on equity of 6.82%. The company had revenue of $211.12 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $210.26 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Stag Industrial will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Stag Industrial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.1242 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Stag Industrial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 114.62%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Larry T. Guillemette sold 2,004 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.20, for a total value of $70,540.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 38,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,361,043.20. This represents a 4.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Benjamin S. Butcher sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.91, for a total value of $922,750.00. Following the sale, the director owned 7,562 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $279,113.42. This represents a 76.78% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 40,148 shares of company stock worth $1,502,621 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Stag Industrial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP bought a new stake in Stag Industrial in the 3rd quarter valued at $69,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Stag Industrial by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,700 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $413,000 after purchasing an additional 1,302 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its position in shares of Stag Industrial by 4.4% during the third quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 439,735 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $15,351,000 after purchasing an additional 18,593 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new stake in shares of Stag Industrial in the third quarter worth about $1,122,000. Finally, Utah Retirement Systems lifted its position in shares of Stag Industrial by 248.3% in the third quarter. Utah Retirement Systems now owns 34,367 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,213,000 after buying an additional 24,500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.67% of the company’s stock.

About Stag Industrial

STAG Industrial, Inc is a real estate investment company, which engages in acquiring, owning, and managing single-tenant, industrial real estate assets. It offers industrial real estate operating platform to real estate ownership. The company was founded by Benjamin S. Butcher on July 21, 2010 and is headquartered in Boston, MA.