Whitestone REIT (NYSE:WSR) Short Interest Down 17.1% in August

Whitestone REIT (NYSE:WSR) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of 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 trading volume of 318,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Julia Bruns Buthman purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $12.99 per share, with a total value of $64,950.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 8,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $105,128.07. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 5.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Whitestone REIT Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of WSR opened at $13.36 on Tuesday. Whitestone REIT has a 1-year low of $9.07 and a 1-year high of $14.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $13.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.73. The firm has a market capitalization 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 company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.0413 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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%.

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.