Whitestone REIT (NYSE:WSR) Short Interest Up 29.1% in March

Whitestone REIT (NYSE:WSR) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 389,600 shares, a growth of 29.1% from the February 28th total of 301,700 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 229,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.7 days. Currently, 0.8% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSR has been the subject of several analyst reports. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $16.00 price objective on shares of Whitestone REIT in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Whitestone REIT in a research note on Friday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Whitestone REIT from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th.

Whitestone REIT Stock Performance

NYSE WSR traded up $0.02 on Tuesday, reaching $14.59. The stock had a trading volume of 247,531 shares, compared to its average volume of 281,862. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 2.17 and a current ratio of 2.17. The stock has a market cap of $742.46 million, a P/E ratio of 35.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.29. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $13.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $13.97. Whitestone REIT has a 12-month low of $10.77 and a 12-month high of $15.36.

Whitestone REIT Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.70%. Whitestone REIT’s payout ratio is 76.06%.

Whitestone REIT Company Profile

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.