Short Interest in Acadia Realty Trust (NYSE:AKR) Expands By 57.4%

Key Points

• Short Interest Surge: Acadia Realty Trust experienced a 57.4% increase in short interest in August, reaching a total of 12.86 million shares, which represents 10.1% of its stock sold short.
• Analysts' Ratings: The stock has received mixed ratings from analysts, with a current average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target of $23.50, amidst a range of ratings from "buy" to "sell".
• Recent Dividend Declaration: The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20, which will be paid on October 15th, representing an annualized yield of 4.0%.

Acadia Realty Trust (NYSE:AKR - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 12,860,000 shares, a growth of 57.4% from the August 15th total of 8,170,000 shares. Approximately 10.1% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,600,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 8.0 days. Based on an average daily volume of 1,600,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 8.0 days. Approximately 10.1% of the company's stock are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AKR. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its position in Acadia Realty Trust by 32.8% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,213 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in shares of Acadia Realty Trust by 9.6% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 96,298 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,788,000 after purchasing an additional 8,407 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming lifted its stake in shares of Acadia Realty Trust by 10.8% in the 2nd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 5,581 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Acadia Realty Trust by 25.4% in the 2nd quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 2,325,956 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $43,193,000 after purchasing an additional 471,103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Acadia Realty Trust by 17.7% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 446,435 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $8,290,000 after purchasing an additional 67,008 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.65% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AKR. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH began coverage on Acadia Realty Trust in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $21.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Acadia Realty Trust from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Citigroup raised Acadia Realty Trust from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $20.00 to $23.00 in a report on Friday, September 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Acadia Realty Trust presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $23.50.

Acadia Realty Trust Price Performance

AKR stock traded down $0.13 during trading on Friday, reaching $20.25. 762,802 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,278,518. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $19.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.59. Acadia Realty Trust has a 52-week low of $16.98 and a 52-week high of $26.29. The company has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 126.54, a PEG ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 1.48.

Acadia Realty Trust (NYSE:AKR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.01). Acadia Realty Trust had a return on equity of 0.79% and a net margin of 5.31%.The company had revenue of $98.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.89 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.31 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Acadia Realty Trust has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.320-1.390 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Acadia Realty Trust will post 1.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Acadia Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Acadia Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 500.00%.

About Acadia Realty Trust

Acadia Realty Trust is an equity real estate investment trust focused on delivering long-term, profitable growth via its dual Core Portfolio and Fund operating platforms and its disciplined, location-driven investment strategy. Acadia Realty Trust is accomplishing this goal by building a best-in-class core real estate portfolio with meaningful concentrations of assets in the nation's most dynamic corridors; making profitable opportunistic and value-add investments through its series of discretionary, institutional funds; and maintaining a strong balance sheet.