Chatham Lodging Trust (REIT) (NYSE:CLDT) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest in Chatham Lodging Trust rose by 33.0% in March to 912,080 shares (about 2.1% of shares), leaving a short-interest ratio of roughly 3.6 days.
• Institutional ownership is high at 88.37%, with major funds like Sculptor Capital, Aegis Financial, Ameriprise, AQR and Kennedy Capital recently adding sizable positions.
• The REIT raised its quarterly dividend to $0.10 (annualized $0.40, ~4.6% yield) despite reporting a quarterly EPS miss ($0.05 vs. $0.16) and a very high payout ratio of 285.71%; analysts' consensus FY EPS is about 1.07.

Chatham Lodging Trust (REIT) (NYSE:CLDT - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 912,080 shares, an increase of 33.0% from the March 15th total of 685,556 shares. Currently, 2.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 253,280 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.6 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chatham Lodging Trust

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CLDT. Sculptor Capital LP acquired a new position in Chatham Lodging Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at $14,901,000. Aegis Financial Corp acquired a new position in Chatham Lodging Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $4,621,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Chatham Lodging Trust by 413.3% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 813,825 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $5,464,000 after acquiring an additional 655,265 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Chatham Lodging Trust by 394.2% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 486,346 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,390,000 after acquiring an additional 387,937 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kennedy Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Chatham Lodging Trust by 24.0% in the 3rd quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 801,619 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $5,379,000 after acquiring an additional 155,023 shares in the last quarter. 88.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Chatham Lodging Trust Stock Performance

NYSE:CLDT traded up $0.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $8.73. 276,049 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 273,412. The stock has a market capitalization of $410.57 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.34 and a beta of 1.05. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $7.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $7.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.33. Chatham Lodging Trust has a fifty-two week low of $6.08 and a fifty-two week high of $8.81.

Chatham Lodging Trust (NYSE:CLDT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.16 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $67.74 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $67.22 million. Chatham Lodging Trust had a net margin of 5.10% and a return on equity of 1.92%. Chatham Lodging Trust has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.040-1.140 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Chatham Lodging Trust will post 1.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chatham Lodging Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. This is a boost from Chatham Lodging Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. Chatham Lodging Trust's payout ratio is presently 285.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Chatham Lodging Trust from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Zacks Research raised Chatham Lodging Trust from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Chatham Lodging Trust from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $11.00.

About Chatham Lodging Trust

Chatham Lodging Trust is a self-advised, publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) focused primarily on investing in upscale, extended-stay hotels and premium-branded, select-service hotels. The company owns 39 hotels totaling 5,915 rooms/suites in 16 states and the District of Columbia.

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