Innovative Industrial Properties, Inc. (NYSE:IIPR) Short Interest Up 20.1% in December

Innovative Industrial Properties, Inc. (NYSE:IIPR) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,670,000 shares, a growth of 20.1% from the December 15th total of 1,390,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 316,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.3 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Innovative Industrial Properties

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in IIPR. Secure Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Innovative Industrial Properties by 18.0% during the fourth quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 13,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $921,000 after purchasing an additional 2,108 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Innovative Industrial Properties by 551.6% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 7,519 shares of the company’s stock valued at $501,000 after buying an additional 6,365 shares in the last quarter. TrueWealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Innovative Industrial Properties by 15.3% during the 4th quarter. TrueWealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,843,000 after acquiring an additional 3,672 shares during the period. Empirical Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Innovative Industrial Properties in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,794,000. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in Innovative Industrial Properties by 25.7% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 6,661 shares of the company’s stock valued at $444,000 after purchasing an additional 1,363 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on IIPR. Compass Point downgraded shares of Innovative Industrial Properties from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $125.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Piper Sandler cut Innovative Industrial Properties from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $118.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Innovative Industrial Properties in a research note on Monday, December 16th. BTIG Research lowered shares of Innovative Industrial Properties from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Roth Capital upgraded shares of Innovative Industrial Properties to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.50.

Innovative Industrial Properties Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE IIPR traded up $1.27 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $68.21. The stock had a trading volume of 240,909 shares, compared to its average volume of 493,872. The company has a market cap of $1.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.14 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a quick ratio of 11.53, a current ratio of 11.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The business’s 50 day moving average is $89.65 and its 200-day moving average is $112.23. Innovative Industrial Properties has a 52 week low of $62.45 and a 52 week high of $138.35.

Innovative Industrial Properties (NYSE:IIPR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.13 by ($0.76). The business had revenue of $76.53 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $77.30 million. Innovative Industrial Properties had a net margin of 52.51% and a return on equity of 8.44%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.29 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Innovative Industrial Properties will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Innovative Industrial Properties Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $1.90 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.14%. Innovative Industrial Properties’s dividend payout ratio is currently 135.23%.

About Innovative Industrial Properties

Innovative Industrial Properties, Inc is a self-advised Maryland corporation focused on the acquisition, ownership and management of specialized properties leased to experienced, state-licensed operators for their regulated cannabis facilities. Innovative Industrial Properties, Inc has elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust, commencing with the year ended December 31, 2017.