Short Interest in Diversified Healthcare Trust (NASDAQ:DHC) Rises By 16.4%

Diversified Healthcare Trust (NASDAQ:DHC) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 8,720,000 shares, an increase of 16.4% from the February 13th total of 7,490,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,070,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 8.1 days. Approximately 4.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Diversified Healthcare Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th.

Diversified Healthcare Trust Stock Down 1.5 %

DHC stock opened at $2.68 on Friday. Diversified Healthcare Trust has a 12 month low of $2.01 and a 12 month high of $4.24. The firm has a market cap of $646.61 million, a PE ratio of -1.66 and a beta of 2.15. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $2.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $2.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 11.57 and a quick ratio of 11.57.

Diversified Healthcare Trust (NASDAQ:DHC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.29) by $0.31. The business had revenue of $379.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $370.97 million. Diversified Healthcare Trust had a negative net margin of 26.09% and a negative return on equity of 17.55%.

Diversified Healthcare Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, January 27th were given a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, January 27th. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. Diversified Healthcare Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -2.60%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Diversified Healthcare Trust

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C acquired a new position in Diversified Healthcare Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Boothbay Fund Management LLC bought a new position in Diversified Healthcare Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Diversified Healthcare Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. RPO LLC acquired a new stake in Diversified Healthcare Trust in the 4th quarter valued at about $54,000. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC increased its position in Diversified Healthcare Trust by 38.8% in the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 23,610 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 6,603 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.98% of the company’s stock.

About Diversified Healthcare Trust

Diversified Healthcare Trust is a real estate investment trust, which engages in the ownership of senior living communities, medical office buildings, and wellness centers. It operates through the following segments: Office Portfolio, Senior Housing Operating Portfolio (SHOP), and Non-Segment. The Office Portfolio segment consists of medical office properties leased to medical providers and other medical related businesses, as well as life science properties leased to biotech laboratories and other similar tenants.