City Office REIT, Inc. (NYSE:CIO) Short Interest Up 5.5% in February

City Office REIT, Inc. (NYSE:CIO – Get Rating) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 541,300 shares, an increase of 5.5% from the February 13th total of 513,100 shares. Approximately 1.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 300,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days.

City Office REIT Stock Performance

Shares of CIO stock opened at $6.48 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $8.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.56. City Office REIT has a one year low of $6.42 and a one year high of $18.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $258.75 million, a PE ratio of 38.12 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 2.48 and a quick ratio of 2.48.

City Office REIT Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.35%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 10th. City Office REIT’s payout ratio is 470.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CIO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on City Office REIT in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. B. Riley decreased their target price on City Office REIT from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 27th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On City Office REIT

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in shares of City Office REIT by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,378,558 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $11,552,000 after purchasing an additional 61,675 shares during the period. Point72 Middle East FZE acquired a new position in shares of City Office REIT during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in shares of City Office REIT during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of City Office REIT during the fourth quarter worth approximately $105,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of City Office REIT by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 47,500 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $397,000 after purchasing an additional 3,248 shares during the period. 76.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About City Office REIT

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City Office REIT, Inc is a real estate investment trust. It focuses on acquiring, owning and operating office properties located primarily in metropolitan areas in the Southern and Western United States. The company was founded on November 26, 2013 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.