Retail Opportunity Investments Corp. (NASDAQ:ROIC) Short Interest Up 56.5% in December

Retail Opportunity Investments Corp. (NASDAQ:ROIC) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,490,000 shares, a growth of 56.5% from the December 15th total of 2,230,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,950,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.8 days.

Retail Opportunity Investments Price Performance

Shares of Retail Opportunity Investments stock traded up $0.06 on Friday, reaching $17.45. 1,361,068 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,842,897. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $17.39 and its 200-day moving average is $15.85. The firm has a market cap of $2.25 billion, a PE ratio of 37.93 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92. Retail Opportunity Investments has a one year low of $11.87 and a one year high of $17.52.

Retail Opportunity Investments (NASDAQ:ROIC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.26 by ($0.01). Retail Opportunity Investments had a return on equity of 4.32% and a net margin of 17.38%. The business had revenue of $83.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $82.13 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.27 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Retail Opportunity Investments will post 1.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Retail Opportunity Investments Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. Retail Opportunity Investments’s dividend payout ratio is presently 130.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ROIC has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com started coverage on Retail Opportunity Investments in a report on Monday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Retail Opportunity Investments from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Raymond James cut shares of Retail Opportunity Investments from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Retail Opportunity Investments in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $14.00 price target for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Retail Opportunity Investments from $17.00 to $17.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Retail Opportunity Investments currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $16.20.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Retail Opportunity Investments by 1,473.1% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,872 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,753 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in Retail Opportunity Investments by 4,320.3% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,271 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 3,197 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Retail Opportunity Investments by 117.8% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,572 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 1,932 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Retail Opportunity Investments by 35.2% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,947 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 1,289 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Retail Opportunity Investments by 71.8% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 7,523 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 3,145 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.16% of the company’s stock.

Retail Opportunity Investments Company Profile

Retail Opportunity Investments Corp. (Nasdaq: ROIC), is a fully integrated, self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT) that specializes in the acquisition, ownership and management of grocery-anchored shopping centers located in densely populated, metropolitan markets across the West Coast. As of December 31, 2023, ROIC owned 94 shopping centers encompassing approximately 10.6 million square feet.