Whitestone REIT (NYSE:WSR) Short Interest Update

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Whitestone REIT Price Performance

WSR traded up $0.08 during trading on Monday, reaching $14.61. 241,188 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 282,161. Whitestone REIT has a 12-month low of $10.77 and a 12-month high of $15.42. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $13.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $13.96. 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 company has a market cap of $743.32 million, a P/E ratio of 35.62, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.29.

Whitestone REIT Announces Dividend

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

About Whitestone REIT

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.