Short Interest in Douglas Emmett, Inc. (NYSE:DEI) Expands By 14.0%

Douglas Emmett, Inc. (NYSE:DEI) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 18,860,000 shares, an increase of 14.0% from the December 15th total of 16,550,000 shares. Approximately 11.7% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,460,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 12.9 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on DEI shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Douglas Emmett from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Janney Montgomery Scott reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Douglas Emmett in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Wedbush raised Douglas Emmett from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $19.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Douglas Emmett from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Scotiabank raised shares of Douglas Emmett from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $16.00 to $21.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.75.

Douglas Emmett Stock Up 1.6 %

NYSE DEI opened at $17.50 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 4.09, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. Douglas Emmett has a 12 month low of $12.35 and a 12 month high of $20.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $18.65 and its 200 day moving average is $17.18. The stock has a market cap of $2.93 billion, a PE ratio of -175.04 and a beta of 1.11.

Douglas Emmett (NYSE:DEI) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.38). The company had revenue of $250.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $242.75 million. Douglas Emmett had a negative return on equity of 0.43% and a negative net margin of 1.68%. Douglas Emmett’s quarterly revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. Research analysts predict that Douglas Emmett will post 1.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Douglas Emmett Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.34%. Douglas Emmett’s payout ratio is -760.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Douglas Emmett

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Douglas Emmett by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,171,839 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $73,312,000 after buying an additional 26,961 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of Douglas Emmett by 3.6% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 91,554 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,219,000 after purchasing an additional 3,183 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Douglas Emmett in the third quarter valued at $650,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Douglas Emmett by 3.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,797,822 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $66,728,000 after purchasing an additional 127,274 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in Douglas Emmett by 43.0% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 227,814 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,003,000 after purchasing an additional 68,507 shares in the last quarter. 97.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Douglas Emmett

Douglas Emmett, Inc (DEI) is a fully integrated, self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT), and one of the largest owners and operators of high-quality office and multifamily properties located in the premier coastal submarkets of Los Angeles and Honolulu. Douglas Emmett focuses on owning and acquiring a substantial share of top-tier office properties and premier multifamily communities in neighborhoods that possess significant supply constraints, high-end executive housing and key lifestyle amenities.