STAG Industrial, Inc. (NYSE:STAG) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

STAG Industrial, Inc. (NYSE:STAG) saw a large decrease in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,190,000 shares, a decrease of 13.3% from the January 31st total of 3,680,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,210,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other STAG Industrial news, Director Benjamin S. Butcher sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.10, for a total transaction of $1,755,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,632 shares in the company, valued at $338,083.20. This represents a 83.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of STAG Industrial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of STAG Industrial during the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in STAG Industrial in the third quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of STAG Industrial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Hilltop National Bank raised its stake in shares of STAG Industrial by 19.2% during the 4th quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 2,243 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 362 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in STAG Industrial by 20.7% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,977 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $101,000 after acquiring an additional 510 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.67% of the company’s stock.

STAG Industrial Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of STAG Industrial stock opened at $36.58 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $34.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.60. The stock has a market cap of $6.82 billion, a PE ratio of 35.17 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.36. STAG Industrial has a 1 year low of $32.27 and a 1 year high of $41.63.

STAG Industrial (NYSE:STAG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities research analysts predict that STAG Industrial will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

STAG Industrial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.1242 dividend. This is a boost from STAG Industrial’s previous dividend of $0.12. This represents a dividend yield of 4.25%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. STAG Industrial’s payout ratio is currently 143.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on STAG. Barclays dropped their target price on STAG Industrial from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of 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 reduced their price target on STAG Industrial from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, STAG Industrial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $40.38.

STAG Industrial Company Profile

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.