In a recent Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing, abrdn plc revealed that it lessened its stake in National Storage Affiliates Trust (NYSE:NSA) by 20.8% during the fourth quarter of the year. The asset management company owned 15,236 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 4,012 shares during this period. According to the SEC filing, abrdn plc’s holdings in National Storage Affiliates Trust were worth $550,000 as of its most recent statement.
National Storage Affiliates Trust recently released its earnings results for the quarter ending February 28th. The real estate investment trust reported lower than expected earnings per share (EPS) of $0.31 for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by ($0.40). Although this may be concerning to some investors, it is important to note that National Storage Affiliates Trust still achieved a return on equity of 4.93% and a net margin of 13.07%. Moreover, despite projections predicting that the business would earn $204.82 million during this period, the firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis, standing at an impressive $208.72 million.
Furthermore, despite disappointing metrics in terms of EPS performance in Q1 of fiscal year 2021-22 alone, sell-side analysts predict that National Storage Affiliates Trust will post robust EPS figures with an average estimate predicted to reach up to approximately 2.83 EPS for the entire fiscal year.
It remains unclear why abrdn plc has decided to lessen its stake in National Storage Affiliates Trust; however, industry insiders speculated that it is part of a broader strategic move amidst changing market conditions or could be related to an internal restructure within their own business operations.
Despite these recent events involving abrdn plc’s asset management activity concerning National Storage Affiliates Trust, the latter continues to demonstrate significant progress in its business operations. As such, potential investors can glean a degree of reassurance in the firm’s ability to continue expanding its brand and portfolio despite challenges in the wider economy.
Institutional Investors Flock to National Storage Affiliates Trust Amid Recent Gains and Investor Activity
National Storage Affiliates Trust: an Overview of Recent Gains and Investor Activity
Investors and hedge funds have been ramping up their positions in National Storage Affiliates Trust, a real estate investment trust that specializes in self-storage facilities. According to recent reports, several large institutional investors have either increased their stakes or purchased new positions in the company’s shares. Among them are Landscape Capital Management, Jennison Associates, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina, and Raymond James & Associates.
Overall, it appears that hedge funds and other institutional investors now own a significant majority (85.26%) of National Storage Affiliates Trust’s stock. This buyer activity may be in response to solid gains recorded by the company’s stock over recent weeks, which opened at $36.35 on March 12th.
Of course, as with any investment strategy, there are potential risks associated with buying or selling shares of National Storage Affiliates Trust right now. Some analysts point to the company’s relatively high PEG ratio of 8.52 as a cause for concern, while others highlight a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76 that may pose challenges down the road.
Despite these concerns, many investors seem bullish on National Storage Affiliates Trust based on its current market cap of $3.21 billion and strong performance in the self-storage industry. As more data becomes available about shareholder activity in this company, it will be interesting to see whether others follow suit and buy into this promising investment opportunity.
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