Boston Properties (NYSE:BXP) Cut to “Underperform” at Wedbush

Wedbush cut shares of Boston Properties (NYSE:BXP) from a neutral rating to an underperform rating in a report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. Wedbush currently has $70.00 price target on the real estate investment trust’s stock, down from their prior price target of $81.00.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on BXP. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Boston Properties from $77.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Boston Properties from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Boston Properties from $88.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Boston Properties from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $78.00 to $105.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Boston Properties from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $81.69.

Boston Properties Price Performance

Shares of BXP opened at $74.91 on Thursday. Boston Properties has a fifty-two week low of $56.46 and a fifty-two week high of $90.11. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $79.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $75.33. The stock has a market cap of $11.84 billion, a PE ratio of 32.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 5.51 and a current ratio of 5.51.

Boston Properties (NYSE:BXP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81 by ($1.28). The company had revenue of $859.23 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $829.91 million. Boston Properties had a return on equity of 4.40% and a net margin of 10.75%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.86 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Boston Properties will post 7.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Boston Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.23%. Boston Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 169.70%.

Institutional Trading of Boston Properties

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BXP. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Boston Properties by 9.9% in the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 148,949 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $9,169,000 after buying an additional 13,369 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Boston Properties by 52.8% during the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 148,073 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $9,115,000 after purchasing an additional 51,158 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Boston Properties by 3.9% in the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 38,791 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,388,000 after purchasing an additional 1,441 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in shares of Boston Properties by 187.2% in the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 127,268 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,721,000 after purchasing an additional 82,959 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hamel Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Boston Properties during the 2nd quarter valued at $332,000. 98.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Boston Properties

Boston Properties, Inc (NYSE: BXP) (BXP or the Company) is the largest publicly traded developer, owner, and manager of premier workplaces in the United States, concentrated in six dynamic gateway markets – Boston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, DC. BXP has delivered places that power progress for our clients and communities for more than 50 years.