Kilroy Realty Co. (NYSE:KRC) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Kilroy Realty Co. (NYSE:KRC) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 7,040,000 shares, a drop of 14.0% from the February 13th total of 8,190,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,390,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.1 days. Currently, 6.1% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Kilroy Realty Trading Down 0.2 %

KRC stock opened at $34.55 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $35.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.29. Kilroy Realty has a fifty-two week low of $30.71 and a fifty-two week high of $43.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a current ratio of 2.21. The firm has a market cap of $4.08 billion, a PE ratio of 19.52 and a beta of 1.02.

Kilroy Realty (NYSE:KRC) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.17. Kilroy Realty had a net margin of 18.58% and a return on equity of 3.75%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Kilroy Realty will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kilroy Realty Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Kilroy Realty’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 122.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Angela M. Aman bought 2,797 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were bought at an average price of $35.45 per share, for a total transaction of $99,153.65. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 2,797 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,153.65. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KRC. Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its stake in Kilroy Realty by 29.7% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 10,878 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $421,000 after buying an additional 2,494 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Kilroy Realty by 3.0% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 41,149 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,604,000 after buying an additional 1,186 shares during the period. Commerce Bank boosted its stake in Kilroy Realty by 3.0% during the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 11,574 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $448,000 after buying an additional 342 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Kilroy Realty by 1.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,171,717 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $84,045,000 after buying an additional 27,660 shares during the period. Finally, Penserra Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Kilroy Realty by 22.8% during the third quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 37,569 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,453,000 after buying an additional 6,975 shares during the period. 94.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Kilroy Realty from $43.00 to $41.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Kilroy Realty in a research note on Monday. They set a “hold” rating and a $34.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Kilroy Realty from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $45.00 to $49.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays upgraded shares of Kilroy Realty from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $42.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Kilroy Realty from $48.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kilroy Realty currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.09.

Kilroy Realty Company Profile

Kilroy Realty Corporation (NYSE: KRC, the company, Kilroy) is a leading U.S. landlord and developer, with operations in San Diego, Greater Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, Greater Seattle and Austin. The company has earned global recognition for sustainability, building operations, innovation and design.