Whitestone REIT (NYSE:WSR) Raises Dividend to $0.05 Per Share

Whitestone REIT (NYSE:WSR) declared a dividend on Wednesday, December 4th,NASDAQ Dividends reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be paid a dividend of 0.045 per share by the real estate investment trust on Tuesday, January 14th. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. This is a boost from Whitestone REIT’s previous dividend of $0.04.

Whitestone REIT has increased its dividend by an average of 10.1% per year over the last three years. Whitestone REIT has a dividend payout ratio of 51.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Whitestone REIT to earn $1.05 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.50 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 47.6%.

Whitestone REIT Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of WSR stock traded up $0.17 on Thursday, reaching $14.56. 222,672 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 314,724. The company has a quick ratio of 2.17, a current ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The stock has a market cap of $737.46 million, a P/E ratio of 35.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.26. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $14.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $13.61. Whitestone REIT has a 1-year low of $10.77 and a 1-year high of $15.01.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WSR. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Whitestone REIT from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $15.00 price target on shares of Whitestone REIT in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Whitestone REIT in a research report on Thursday, November 28th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $15.33.

About Whitestone REIT

Whitestone REIT (NYSE: WSR) is a community-centered real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, owns, operates, and develops open-air, retail centers located in some of the fastest growing markets in the country: Phoenix, Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio. Our centers are convenience focused: merchandised with a mix of service-oriented tenants providing food (restaurants and grocers), self-care (health and fitness), services (financial and logistics), education and entertainment to the surrounding communities.