Net Lease Office Properties (NYSE:NLOP) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest jumped 31.3% in March to 641,697 shares (about 4.4% of the stock) with a short-interest ratio of 2.6 days as of March 31.
• Several institutions notably increased stakes—Thompson Siegel & Walmsley and Millennium Management made large purchases—and hedge funds and other institutions now own 58.33% of NLOP's shares.
• The company recently paid a $3.30 special dividend (record/ex-dividend date March 30; paid April 14), a sizable distribution relative to the current share price.

Net Lease Office Properties (NYSE:NLOP - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 641,697 shares, an increase of 31.3% from the March 15th total of 488,839 shares. Currently, 4.4% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 243,268 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NLOP. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC raised its holdings in shares of Net Lease Office Properties by 86.6% in the fourth quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 524,956 shares of the company's stock worth $13,539,000 after buying an additional 243,575 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Net Lease Office Properties by 337.6% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 163,651 shares of the company's stock worth $4,221,000 after buying an additional 126,250 shares during the last quarter. Marnell Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Net Lease Office Properties in the fourth quarter worth $1,754,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Net Lease Office Properties by 634.2% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 56,617 shares of the company's stock worth $1,679,000 after buying an additional 48,906 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Man Group plc raised its holdings in shares of Net Lease Office Properties by 143.8% in the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 57,912 shares of the company's stock worth $1,494,000 after buying an additional 34,159 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on NLOP. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Net Lease Office Properties from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Net Lease Office Properties in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Sell".

Net Lease Office Properties Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NLOP traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $12.81. The company had a trading volume of 92,584 shares, compared to its average volume of 280,371. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $14.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.82. The stock has a market cap of $189.69 million, a P/E ratio of -1.31 and a beta of 0.52. Net Lease Office Properties has a 1 year low of $11.23 and a 1 year high of $34.53. The company has a current ratio of 2.19, a quick ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Net Lease Office Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a special dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 30th were issued a $3.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 30th. Net Lease Office Properties's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -3.47%.

Net Lease Office Properties Company Profile

Net Lease Office Properties NYSE: NLOP is a real estate investment trust organized to acquire and manage single-tenant office properties subject to long-term net leases. The company seeks to generate stable, contracting cash flows by entering into sale-leaseback transactions and investment-grade lease agreements with corporate tenants. NLOP's portfolio is intended to provide investors with exposure to a diversified base of office assets while retaining the structural benefits of net lease arrangements.

The REIT's business model centers on acquiring office buildings that are leased to creditworthy tenants under triple-net leases, whereby the tenant is responsible for property taxes, insurance and maintenance.

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