Broadstone Net Lease, Inc. (NYSE:BNL) Short Interest Update

Broadstone Net Lease, Inc. (NYSE:BNL) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,250,000 shares, an increase of 58.6% from the January 31st total of 2,680,000 shares. Currently, 2.3% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,060,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.0 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BNL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JMP Securities upgraded shares of Broadstone Net Lease from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $21.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Citizens Jmp raised shares of Broadstone Net Lease from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Broadstone Net Lease in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $18.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $18.60.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Broadstone Net Lease

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Broadstone Net Lease by 63.2% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 114,272 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,165,000 after purchasing an additional 44,264 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Broadstone Net Lease by 30.4% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 466,782 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,403,000 after acquiring an additional 108,907 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Broadstone Net Lease by 79.0% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 44,955 shares of the company’s stock valued at $705,000 after acquiring an additional 19,839 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management purchased a new stake in Broadstone Net Lease in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,610,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Broadstone Net Lease during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $633,000. 89.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Broadstone Net Lease Stock Performance

BNL traded down $0.08 on Tuesday, hitting $16.77. The company had a trading volume of 882,155 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,063,995. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.27 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $15.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.14. Broadstone Net Lease has a 12-month low of $14.20 and a 12-month high of $19.15.

Broadstone Net Lease (NYSE:BNL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.16. Broadstone Net Lease had a net margin of 37.62% and a return on equity of 5.10%. The business had revenue of $112.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.80 million. Analysts forecast that Broadstone Net Lease will post 1.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Broadstone Net Lease Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Broadstone Net Lease’s dividend payout ratio is presently 133.33%.

About Broadstone Net Lease

Broadstone Net Lease, Inc (the Corporation) is a Maryland corporation formed on October 18, 2007, that elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust (REIT) commencing with the taxable year ended December 31, 2008. Broadstone Net Lease, LLC (the Corporation’s operating company, or the OP), is the entity through which the Corporation conducts its business and owns (either directly or through subsidiaries) all of the Corporation’s properties.