Short Interest in Retail Opportunity Investments Corp. (NASDAQ:ROIC) Rises By 56.5%

Retail Opportunity Investments Corp. (NASDAQ:ROIC) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,490,000 shares, a growth of 56.5% from the December 15th total of 2,230,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,950,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days.

Retail Opportunity Investments Stock Performance

ROIC traded up $0.06 on Friday, hitting $17.45. The company had a trading volume of 1,361,064 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,842,896. Retail Opportunity Investments has a 1-year low of $11.87 and a 1-year high of $17.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $17.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.81. The stock has a market cap of $2.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.93 and a beta of 1.46.

Retail Opportunity Investments (NASDAQ:ROIC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.26 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $83.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $82.13 million. Retail Opportunity Investments had a return on equity of 4.32% and a net margin of 17.38%. Retail Opportunity Investments’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.27 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Retail Opportunity Investments will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Retail Opportunity Investments Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 20th. Retail Opportunity Investments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 130.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ROIC. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Retail Opportunity Investments in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $14.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Retail Opportunity Investments in a research note on Monday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Retail Opportunity Investments from $17.00 to $17.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Baird R W lowered Retail Opportunity Investments from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $17.50 price objective (up previously from $16.00) on shares of Retail Opportunity Investments in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $16.20.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Retail Opportunity Investments by 1,473.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,872 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,753 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Retail Opportunity Investments by 4,320.3% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,271 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 3,197 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Retail Opportunity Investments by 117.8% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,572 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 1,932 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Retail Opportunity Investments by 35.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,947 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 1,289 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd raised its position in shares of Retail Opportunity Investments by 71.8% during the second quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 7,523 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 3,145 shares during the last quarter. 97.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Retail Opportunity Investments Company Profile

Retail Opportunity Investments Corp. (Nasdaq: ROIC), is a fully integrated, self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT) that specializes in the acquisition, ownership and management of grocery-anchored shopping centers located in densely populated, metropolitan markets across the West Coast. As of December 31, 2023, ROIC owned 94 shopping centers encompassing approximately 10.6 million square feet.