Extra Space Storage Downgraded to Sell by StockNews.com

Extra Space Storage (NYSE:EXR) has recently seen a downgrade by analysts at StockNews.com, who have shifted their rating on the stock from a "hold" to a "sell." This change was announced in a report published on Friday.

A few other research firms have also made noteworthy adjustments regarding the company’s stock. For instance, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price for Extra Space Storage from $170.00 to $165.00, maintaining an "equal weight" rating as of February 21. Similarly, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price from $167.00 to $163.00, and retained a "sector perform" rating on February 27. On the other hand, Scotiabank adjusted its target price for the stock from $167.00 to $165.00, also assigning a "sector perform" rating. Meanwhile, Barclays set its target down from $192.00 to $184.00 while maintaining an "overweight" rating as of January 13. Truist Financial, on the contrary, raised its price objective slightly from $167.00 to $168.00 and kept a "hold" rating as of December 5. Currently, two analysts have issued sell ratings, six have given hold ratings, and four have recommended buy ratings for the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Extra Space Storage holds a consensus rating of "Hold" with a consensus target price of $171.36.

Performance of Extra Space Storage Shares

During trading on Friday, shares of Extra Space Storage rose by $2.06 to reach $157.11. Approximately 1,807,243 shares changed hands, which is higher than the average trading volume of 1,354,380 shares. The company’s current ratio, quick ratio, and debt-to-equity ratio stand at 0.23, 0.23, and 0.77 respectively. With a market capitalization of $33.31 billion, the stock has a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.13, a PEG ratio of 7.76, and a beta of 0.91. Over the past year, the shares have fluctuated between a low of $131.02 and a high of $184.87. The 50-day simple moving average is approximately $152.91, while the two-hundred-day simple moving average is around $163.07.

Extra Space Storage recently released its earnings report on February 25, indicating an earnings per share (EPS) of $2.03. This figure surpassed analysts’ expectations of $1.10 by $0.93. Revenue for the quarter was reported at $821.90 million, exceeding expectations of $707.34 million. The company recorded a net margin of 25.35% and a return on equity of 5.51%. Analysts predict that Extra Space Storage will post an earnings per share of about 8.1 for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Extra Space Storage

In related news, Executive Vice President William N. Springer sold 1,220 shares of Extra Space Storage on February 28 at an average price of $152.66, totaling $186,245.20. After this transaction, Springer retains 20,158 shares valued at approximately $3,077,320.28, representing a 5.71% decrease in ownership. Additionally, CEO Joseph D. Margolis sold 7,500 shares on January 2 at an average price of $148.01, amounting to $1,110,075.00. Following this sale, Margolis possesses 16,690 shares worth around $2,470,286.90, reflecting a 31% decrease in their holdings. Insiders currently own about 1.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investor Movements

Several hedge funds and institutional investors have made alterations to their holdings in Extra Space Storage. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake by 34.4% during the third quarter, owning 12,640 shares valued at around $2,278,000 after acquiring an additional 3,234 shares. Swedbank AB also boosted its position by 4.5%, holding 243,130 shares worth about $43,810,000 after adding 10,408 shares. UBS Asset Management bolstered its ownership dramatically by 724.1% during the third quarter, now holding 1,981,799 shares valued at roughly $357,100,000 after purchasing an additional 1,741,320 shares. Additionally, Duff & Phelps Investment Management increased its stake by 9.5%, totaling 35,503 shares worth $6,397,000 after acquiring 3,093 shares. Lastly, Brown Financial Advisors raised its position by 69.1% in the third quarter, now owning 9,134 shares valued at about $1,646,000. Notably, institutional investors collectively hold 99.11% of the company’s stock.

Company Overview

Extra Space Storage Inc., headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, is a self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT) and a member of the S&P 500. As of December 31, 2023, the company owned and/or managed 3,714 self-storage facilities across 42 states and Washington, D.C., encompassing approximately 2.6 million units and around 283 million square feet of rentable space under the brands Extra Space, Life Storage, and Storage Express.

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