Equity Commonwealth (NYSE:EQC) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Equity Commonwealth (NYSE:EQC) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,390,000 shares, a decline of 21.5% from the October 15th total of 1,770,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,080,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.3 days. Currently, 1.3% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Equity Commonwealth from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equity Commonwealth

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Equity Commonwealth by 103.1% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 66,068 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,247,000 after buying an additional 33,542 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in Equity Commonwealth by 53.1% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 12,460 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $235,000 after acquiring an additional 4,320 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equity Commonwealth by 8.5% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 18,354 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $347,000 after acquiring an additional 1,445 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its position in shares of Equity Commonwealth by 19.3% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 35,753 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $740,000 after purchasing an additional 5,787 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Equity Commonwealth by 208.2% during the first quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 786,433 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $14,848,000 after purchasing an additional 531,224 shares during the period. 96.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equity Commonwealth Price Performance

EQC stock traded up $0.32 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $20.08. The stock had a trading volume of 4,900,096 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,745,695. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.72. Equity Commonwealth has a fifty-two week low of $17.93 and a fifty-two week high of $21.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.16 billion, a PE ratio of 51.49 and a beta of 0.27.

Equity Commonwealth Company Profile

Equity Commonwealth (NYSE: EQC) is a Chicago based, internally managed and self-advised real estate investment trust (REIT) with commercial office properties in the United States. EQC's portfolio is comprised of four properties totaling 1.5 million square feet.