Whitestone REIT (NYSE:WSR) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Whitestone REIT (NYSE:WSR) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 870,400 shares, a decline of 17.1% from the August 15th total of 1,050,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 318,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Whitestone REIT Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE:WSR opened at $13.36 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $13.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. Whitestone REIT has a 52 week low of $9.07 and a 52 week high of $14.48. The stock has a market cap of $667.47 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.83, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.27.

Whitestone REIT Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be issued a $0.0413 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.71%. Whitestone REIT’s payout ratio is 102.08%.

Insider Activity

In other Whitestone REIT news, Director Julia Bruns Buthman purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $12.99 per share, for a total transaction of $64,950.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 8,093 shares in the company, valued at $105,128.07. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WSR. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Whitestone REIT from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $15.00 target price on shares of Whitestone REIT in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $15.00.

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.