Whitestone REIT (WSR) Upgraded to “Buy” at ValuEngine

ValuEngine upgraded shares of Whitestone REIT (NYSE:WSR) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Thursday morning.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Zacks Investment Research lowered Whitestone REIT from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Saturday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird lowered Whitestone REIT from a neutral rating to an underperform rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $15.00 to $10.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 17th. FBR & Co reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $14.00 target price on shares of Whitestone REIT in a research report on Tuesday, July 11th. Maxim Group reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $20.00 target price on shares of Whitestone REIT in a research report on Wednesday, June 14th. Finally, Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services reaffirmed a hold rating on shares of Whitestone REIT in a research report on Monday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock currently has an average rating of Buy and an average price target of $14.25.

Whitestone REIT (WSR) traded up 0.08% on Thursday, hitting $12.87. The stock had a trading volume of 280,325 shares. The stock has a market cap of $459.65 million, a P/E ratio of 92.59 and a beta of 0.92. Whitestone REIT has a one year low of $10.80 and a one year high of $15.51. The company’s 50-day moving average is $12.52 and its 200-day moving average is $13.01.

Whitestone REIT (NYSE:WSR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.05. Whitestone REIT had a return on equity of 1.84% and a net margin of 4.36%. The business had revenue of $30.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.68 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.32 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Whitestone REIT will post $0.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 3rd will be paid a $0.095 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 1st. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.86%. Whitestone REIT’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 876.99%.

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WSR. Schnieders Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Whitestone REIT by 4.5% in the first quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC now owns 10,475 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $145,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Whitestone REIT during the first quarter worth approximately $160,000. Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Whitestone REIT by 8.8% in the second quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 12,300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $151,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in shares of Whitestone REIT by 21.4% in the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 14,581 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $201,000 after buying an additional 2,570 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American International Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Whitestone REIT by 7.3% in the first quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 16,157 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 1,105 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 35.72% of the company’s stock.

Whitestone REIT Company Profile

Whitestone REIT is a real estate investment trust. The Company is engaged in owning and operating commercial properties in culturally diverse markets in various metropolitan areas. The Company’s acquisition targets are located in densely populated, culturally diverse neighborhoods, primarily in and around Austin, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Phoenix and San Antonio.