Gladstone Land Co. (NASDAQ:LAND) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Gladstone Land Co. (NASDAQ:LAND) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,140,000 shares, an increase of 16.6% from the February 13th total of 977,600 shares. Approximately 3.4% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 376,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.0 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Gladstone Land from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gladstone Land

In other news, Director Anthony W. Parker sold 6,601 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.02, for a total transaction of $72,743.02. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 7.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gladstone Land

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LAND. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Gladstone Land by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 59,866 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $650,000 after purchasing an additional 1,094 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Gladstone Land by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 59,290 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $643,000 after acquiring an additional 1,130 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Gladstone Land by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 13,685 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $148,000 after acquiring an additional 1,192 shares during the period. Millburn Ridgefield Corp grew its position in shares of Gladstone Land by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Millburn Ridgefield Corp now owns 13,685 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $148,000 after acquiring an additional 1,192 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Gladstone Land by 224.2% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,929 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,334 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 53.60% of the company’s stock.

Gladstone Land Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ LAND traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $10.72. 37,481 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 232,000. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $11.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $12.07. The company has a market cap of $387.72 million, a PE ratio of -36.96, a P/E/G ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 1.11. Gladstone Land has a twelve month low of $10.27 and a twelve month high of $15.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.70.

Gladstone Land (NASDAQ:LAND) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by $0.19. The business had revenue of $21.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.45 million. Gladstone Land had a net margin of 15.59% and a return on equity of 1.89%. Research analysts predict that Gladstone Land will post 0.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gladstone Land Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 27th were paid a $0.0467 dividend. This represents a yield of 5.33%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This is an increase from Gladstone Land’s previous dividend of $0.04. Gladstone Land’s dividend payout ratio is currently -193.10%.

Gladstone Land Company Profile

Founded in 1997, Gladstone Land is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that acquires and owns farmland and farm-related properties located in major agricultural markets in the U.S. and leases its properties to unrelated third-party farmers. The Company, which reports the aggregate fair value of its farmland holdings on a quarterly basis, currently owns 169 farms, comprised of approximately 116,000 acres in 15 different states and over 45,000 acre-feet of banked water in California, valued at a total of approximately $1.6 billion.