Veris Residential, Inc. (NYSE:VRE) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest fell 30.1% to 1,265,199 shares as of April 15, representing 1.6% of shares outstanding and a short-interest ratio of about 1.0 day.
• Veris reported quarterly EPS of -$0.15, missing the $0.18 estimate while beating revenue expectations ($70.10M vs. $68.06M), and paid a quarterly dividend of $0.08 (annualized yield ~1.7%).
• Institutional ownership is very high at 93.04%, several large funds materially increased positions, and analysts hold a consensus "Hold" rating with a $19.50 price target.

Veris Residential, Inc. (NYSE:VRE - Get Free Report) saw a large drop in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,265,199 shares, a drop of 30.1% from the March 31st total of 1,810,082 shares. Currently, 1.6% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,308,247 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.0 days.

Veris Residential Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VRE traded up $0.03 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $18.95. 351,204 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,472,766. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The company has a market cap of $1.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $18.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.29. Veris Residential has a 52-week low of $13.69 and a 52-week high of $19.03.

Veris Residential (NYSE:VRE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported ($0.15) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.33). The firm had revenue of $70.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $68.06 million. Veris Residential had a net margin of 24.74% and a return on equity of 5.32%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Veris Residential will post 0.78 EPS for the current year.

Veris Residential Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. Veris Residential's payout ratio is 40.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veris Residential

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. H 2 Credit Manager LP increased its holdings in shares of Veris Residential by 27.4% during the 4th quarter. H 2 Credit Manager LP now owns 5,472,814 shares of the company's stock valued at $81,435,000 after purchasing an additional 1,175,500 shares in the last quarter. Madison International Realty Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Veris Residential during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $78,875,000. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Veris Residential by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,729,420 shares of the company's stock valued at $70,790,000 after purchasing an additional 115,670 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Veris Residential by 26.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,374,440 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,091,000 after purchasing an additional 501,725 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of Veris Residential by 39.2% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,587,722 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,625,000 after purchasing an additional 446,967 shares in the last quarter. 93.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on VRE shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Veris Residential from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Veris Residential in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Veris Residential from $15.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Veris Residential from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Veris Residential has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $19.50.

Veris Residential Company Profile

Veris Residential, Inc NYSE: VRE is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that focuses on the acquisition, development, ownership and management of high-quality, Class A multifamily residential communities. As a pure-play residential REIT, Veris Residential offers a range of apartment homes designed to appeal to both urban and suburban renters seeking modern living spaces enhanced with amenities and services.

The company's portfolio consists of contemporary apartment buildings that feature studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans.

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