Boston Properties, Inc. (NYSE:BXP) Short Interest Up 6.6% in December

Boston Properties, Inc. (NYSE:BXP) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,300,000 shares, an increase of 6.6% from the December 15th total of 6,850,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,190,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.1 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Boston Properties from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Piper Sandler raised Boston Properties from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $78.00 to $105.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays boosted their price objective on Boston Properties from $88.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Boston Properties from $92.00 to $86.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Boston Properties from $64.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $82.00.

Boston Properties Stock Performance

Shares of BXP traded up $0.88 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $73.32. 1,086,606 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 958,979. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $77.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.18. Boston Properties has a 52-week low of $56.46 and a 52-week high of $90.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.59 billion, a PE ratio of 31.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 5.51 and a quick ratio of 5.51.

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

Boston Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.35%. Boston Properties’s dividend payout ratio is presently 169.70%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Boston Properties

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BXP. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. lifted its stake in Boston Properties by 212.1% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 568 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Boston Properties by 5,025.0% during the third quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 615 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 603 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Boston Properties during the third quarter valued at $58,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Boston Properties by 61.4% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,438 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Boston Properties during the 2nd quarter valued at $116,000. 98.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.