Short Interest in Kite Realty Group Trust (NYSE:KRG) Expands By 8.6%

Kite Realty Group Trust (NYSE:KRG) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,170,000 shares, an increase of 8.6% from the June 30th total of 4,760,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,430,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.6 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on KRG shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Kite Realty Group Trust from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Kite Realty Group Trust from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Kite Realty Group Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.00.

Kite Realty Group Trust Trading Down 3.2 %

Shares of KRG opened at $24.68 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. Kite Realty Group Trust has a 12-month low of $19.64 and a 12-month high of $25.56. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $22.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 94.93, a P/E/G ratio of 6.43 and a beta of 1.31.

Kite Realty Group Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 16th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 9th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 9th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.21%. This is a positive change from Kite Realty Group Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Kite Realty Group Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 384.63%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kite Realty Group Trust

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its position in Kite Realty Group Trust by 0.5% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 126,703 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,745,000 after buying an additional 649 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its position in Kite Realty Group Trust by 0.3% in the first quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 275,494 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,973,000 after buying an additional 724 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Kite Realty Group Trust by 41.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,523 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 742 shares during the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd lifted its position in Kite Realty Group Trust by 1.5% in the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 62,353 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,352,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Kite Realty Group Trust by 14.0% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 9,225 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $200,000 after buying an additional 1,136 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.81% of the company’s stock.

Kite Realty Group Trust Company Profile

Kite Realty Group Trust (NYSE: KRG) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) headquartered in Indianapolis, IN that is one of the largest publicly traded owners and operators of open-air shopping centers and mixed-use assets. The Company's primarily grocery-anchored portfolio is located in high-growth Sun Belt and select strategic gateway markets.