Global Medical REIT Inc. (NYSE:GMRE) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Global Medical REIT Inc. (NYSE:GMRE) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,200,000 shares, an increase of 8.1% from the September 15th total of 1,110,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 389,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Alliance Global Partners started coverage on shares of Global Medical REIT in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $12.00 price target for the company.

Global Medical REIT Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GMRE traded down $0.11 on Thursday, reaching $9.48. 382,156 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 388,423. The stock has a market capitalization of $621.77 million, a PE ratio of 41.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The company’s 50 day moving average is $9.45 and its 200-day moving average is $9.10. Global Medical REIT has a fifty-two week low of $7.98 and a fifty-two week high of $11.59.

Global Medical REIT (NYSE:GMRE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.25). The firm had revenue of $34.24 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.24 million. Global Medical REIT had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 1.09%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.23 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Global Medical REIT will post 0.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Global Medical REIT Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 20th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 20th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.86%. Global Medical REIT’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 365.22%.

Institutional Trading of Global Medical REIT

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd acquired a new position in Global Medical REIT in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $100,000. M&G Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Global Medical REIT during the first quarter worth $141,000. BTC Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Global Medical REIT during the first quarter valued at $143,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Global Medical REIT by 90.1% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 22,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 10,759 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning increased its position in Global Medical REIT by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 22,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $228,000 after purchasing an additional 2,702 shares during the last quarter. 57.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Global Medical REIT

Global Medical REIT Inc (GMRE) is a net-lease medical office real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns and acquires healthcare facilities and leases those facilities to physician groups and regional and national healthcare systems.