AMREP Co. (NYSE:AXR) Short Interest Up 9.8% in December

AMREP Co. (NYSE:AXR) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 21,200 shares, an increase of 9.8% from the November 30th total of 19,300 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 23,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.9 days. Approximately 0.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling at AMREP

In other AMREP news, major shareholder James H. Dahl acquired 1,800 shares of AMREP stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $29.95 per share, for a total transaction of $53,910.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 434,574 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,015,491.30. This trade represents a 0.42 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Robotti sold 13,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.56, for a total transaction of $410,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 296,594 shares in the company, valued at $9,360,506.64. The trade was a 4.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 37.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AMREP

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new stake in shares of AMREP in the third quarter worth $29,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in AMREP by 26,700.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,876 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 1,869 shares during the period. State Street Corp purchased a new stake in AMREP in the 3rd quarter worth about $216,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in AMREP by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 30,825 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $915,000 after acquiring an additional 1,589 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in AMREP by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 42,796 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,271,000 after acquiring an additional 2,144 shares in the last quarter. 59.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com lowered AMREP from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th.

AMREP Stock Down 1.3 %

NYSE:AXR opened at $31.40 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.01 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.84 and a beta of 0.92. AMREP has a 1-year low of $15.88 and a 1-year high of $39.67.

AMREP (NYSE:AXR) last released its earnings results on Friday, December 13th. The business services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter. AMREP had a net margin of 15.64% and a return on equity of 8.05%.

About AMREP

AMREP Corporation, through its subsidiaries, primarily engages in the real estate business. The company operates through two segments, Land Development and Homebuilding. It sells developed and undeveloped lots to homebuilders, commercial and industrial property developers, and others. In addition, the company owns mineral interests covering an area of approximately 55,000 surface acres of land in Sandoval County, New Mexico; and owns oil, gas, and minerals and mineral interests covering an area of approximately 147 surface acres of land in Brighton, Colorado.