Kilroy Realty Co. (NYSE:KRC) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Kilroy Realty Co. (NYSE:KRC - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 9,210,000 shares, an increase of 22.3% from the March 15th total of 7,530,000 shares. Approximately 8.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,640,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.6 days.

Kilroy Realty Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE KRC traded down $0.23 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $32.36. 83,001 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,597,350. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.83 billion, a PE ratio of 18.30 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Kilroy Realty has a 12 month low of $27.07 and a 12 month high of $43.78. The company has a 50 day moving average of $32.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.23.

Kilroy Realty (NYSE:KRC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.17. Kilroy Realty had a net margin of 18.58% and a return on equity of 3.75%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Kilroy Realty will post 4 earnings per share for the current year.

Kilroy Realty Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.67%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Kilroy Realty's dividend payout ratio is currently 122.03%.

Insider Activity at Kilroy Realty

In other news, EVP John Osmond sold 4,000 shares of Kilroy Realty stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.16, for a total value of $140,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 12,528 shares of the company's stock, valued at $440,484.48. The trade was a 24.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider A. Robert Paratte sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.74, for a total value of $208,440.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 86,744 shares in the company, valued at $3,013,486.56. This trade represents a 6.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.49% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kilroy Realty

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KRC. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Kilroy Realty in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in Kilroy Realty during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Kilroy Realty by 25.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,848 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 374 shares during the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in Kilroy Realty in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of Kilroy Realty by 31.7% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,523 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 607 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.22% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on KRC. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Kilroy Realty from $43.00 to $41.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. KeyCorp cut their target price on shares of Kilroy Realty from $45.00 to $41.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $36.00 price target (down from $42.00) on shares of Kilroy Realty in a report on Friday, March 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut Kilroy Realty from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $43.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Kilroy Realty from $49.00 to $42.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $38.82.

Kilroy Realty Company Profile

Kilroy Realty Corporation (NYSE: KRC, the company, Kilroy) is a leading U.S. landlord and developer, with operations in San Diego, Greater Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, Greater Seattle and Austin. The company has earned global recognition for sustainability, building operations, innovation and design.