Barber Financial Group Inc. cut its position in shares of VEREIT Inc. (NYSE:VER) by 1.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 555,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,101 shares during the period. VEREIT accounts for approximately 1.5% of Barber Financial Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Barber Financial Group Inc. owned 0.06% of VEREIT worth $4,520,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VER. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in VEREIT by 2.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 155,944,544 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,323,969,000 after buying an additional 3,799,549 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. raised its position in VEREIT by 3,227.7% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 76,790,678 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $651,955,000 after buying an additional 74,483,066 shares in the last quarter. Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC raised its position in VEREIT by 72.6% in the first quarter. Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC now owns 16,129,586 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $136,940,000 after buying an additional 6,783,213 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in VEREIT by 4.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 12,868,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $109,250,000 after buying an additional 582,551 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its position in VEREIT by 43.9% in the first quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,594,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $89,951,000 after buying an additional 3,229,897 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.50% of the company’s stock.
Shares of VEREIT Inc. (VER) traded up 0.58% during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $8.67. The company had a trading volume of 682,744 shares. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $8.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.40. The company’s market capitalization is $8.44 billion. VEREIT Inc. has a one year low of $7.44 and a one year high of $10.76.
VEREIT (NYSE:VER) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The financial services provider reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.16. VEREIT had a negative return on equity of 0.44% and a negative net margin of 2.72%. The firm had revenue of $336.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $296.02 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.19 earnings per share. VEREIT’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that VEREIT Inc. will post ($1.70) EPS for the current year.
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.138 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 28th. This is a positive change from VEREIT’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. This represents a $0.55 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.40%. VEREIT’s payout ratio is -499.95%.
VEREIT announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, May 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.
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A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on VER shares. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and issued a $9.00 target price on shares of VEREIT in a report on Wednesday, April 26th. Zacks Investment Research lowered VEREIT from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 10th. BidaskClub upgraded VEREIT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, July 16th. Finally, ValuEngine lowered VEREIT from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. The stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $9.80.
About VEREIT
VEREIT, Inc is a full-service real estate operating company. The Company operates through two business segments: real estate investment (REI) segment and investment management segment, Cole Capital. As of December 31, 2016, through its REI segment, the Company owned and managed a portfolio of 4,142 retail, restaurant, office and industrial real estate properties with an aggregate of 93.3 million square feet, which are located in 49 states, Puerto Rico and Canada.
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