STAG Industrial, Inc. (NYSE:STAG) Short Interest Up 26.0% in February

STAG Industrial, Inc. (NYSE:STAG) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 4,020,000 shares, a growth of 26.0% from the February 13th total of 3,190,000 shares. Currently, 2.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,290,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on STAG shares. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of STAG Industrial from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Raymond James upped their price objective on STAG Industrial from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on STAG Industrial from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.38.

STAG Industrial Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of STAG Industrial stock opened at $35.42 on Wednesday. STAG Industrial has a 52-week low of $32.27 and a 52-week high of $41.63. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $34.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.05 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.36.

STAG Industrial (NYSE:STAG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.43. STAG Industrial had a return on equity of 5.51% and a net margin of 24.64%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that STAG Industrial will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

STAG Industrial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.1242 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This is a boost from STAG Industrial’s previous dividend of $0.12. This represents a dividend yield of 4.25%. STAG Industrial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 143.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling at STAG Industrial

In related news, Director Benjamin S. Butcher sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.10, for a total value of $1,755,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $338,083.20. The trade was a 83.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On STAG Industrial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of STAG Industrial by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 37,131 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,256,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Values First Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of STAG Industrial by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 14,562 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $492,000 after buying an additional 307 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of STAG Industrial by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,025 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $407,000 after buying an additional 347 shares during the period. Peak Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of STAG Industrial by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC now owns 12,415 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $420,000 after buying an additional 356 shares during the period. Finally, Hilltop National Bank increased its position in shares of STAG Industrial by 19.2% during the fourth quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 2,243 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 362 shares during the period. 88.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About STAG Industrial

STAG Industrial, Inc is a real estate investment company, which engages in acquiring, owning, and managing single-tenant, industrial real estate assets. It offers industrial real estate operating platform to real estate ownership. The company was founded by Benjamin S. Butcher on July 21, 2010 and is headquartered in Boston, MA.