Short Interest in Brookdale Senior Living Inc. (NYSE:BKD) Declines By 7.0%

Brookdale Senior Living Inc. (NYSE:BKD) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 10,040,000 shares, a decrease of 7.0% from the October 15th total of 10,790,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,270,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.4 days. Currently, 5.7% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BKD has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America lowered Brookdale Senior Living from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $7.75 to $6.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $9.00 price objective on shares of Brookdale Senior Living in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Macquarie reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $8.00 price objective on shares of Brookdale Senior Living in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Brookdale Senior Living in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $8.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $7.75.

Brookdale Senior Living Stock Performance

Shares of BKD stock traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $5.11. 75,278 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,037,275. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $6.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $6.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.46, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. Brookdale Senior Living has a 12-month low of $5.09 and a 12-month high of $8.12.

Brookdale Senior Living (NYSE:BKD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.22) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.16) by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $784.17 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $785.61 million. Brookdale Senior Living had a negative net margin of 6.75% and a negative return on equity of 59.06%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.22) EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Brookdale Senior Living will post -0.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BKD. Adelante Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Brookdale Senior Living in the third quarter valued at about $12,076,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Brookdale Senior Living in the second quarter valued at $9,603,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Brookdale Senior Living in the second quarter valued at $8,513,000. Rush Island Management LP increased its position in shares of Brookdale Senior Living by 31.9% in the third quarter. Rush Island Management LP now owns 5,116,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,742,000 after buying an additional 1,237,727 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Brookdale Senior Living by 63.6% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,159,898 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,582,000 after buying an additional 1,228,473 shares during the last quarter.

Brookdale Senior Living Company Profile

Brookdale Senior Living Inc owns, manages, and operates senior living communities in the United States. It operates in three segments: Independent Living, Assisted Living and Memory Care, and Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRCs). The Independent Living segment owns or leases communities comprising independent and assisted living units in a single community that are primarily designed for middle to upper income seniors.