Brookdale Senior Living Inc. (NYSE:BKD) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Brookdale Senior Living Inc. (NYSE:BKD) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 8,640,000 shares, a decline of 6.1% from the December 15th total of 9,200,000 shares. Currently, 4.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,980,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.4 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BKD has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Brookdale Senior Living in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $8.00 price objective for the company. Macquarie reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $8.00 price target on shares of Brookdale Senior Living in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $8.00 price objective on shares of Brookdale Senior Living in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Brookdale Senior Living from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $7.75 to $6.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $7.50.

Insider Transactions at Brookdale Senior Living

In other news, Director Lee S. Wielansky sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.62, for a total transaction of $56,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 211,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,187,966.84. This represents a 4.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brookdale Senior Living

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sei Investments Co. purchased a new position in Brookdale Senior Living in the second quarter valued at about $81,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Brookdale Senior Living during the 3rd quarter worth $104,000. Algert Global LLC bought a new position in shares of Brookdale Senior Living during the second quarter worth about $124,000. Aigen Investment Management LP grew its stake in Brookdale Senior Living by 69.5% in the third quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 25,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $176,000 after purchasing an additional 10,647 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in Brookdale Senior Living by 9.2% in the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 31,971 shares of the company’s stock valued at $218,000 after buying an additional 2,697 shares during the last quarter.

Brookdale Senior Living Stock Down 0.3 %

Brookdale Senior Living stock traded down $0.02 during trading on Friday, reaching $5.00. 2,017,818 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,464,216. Brookdale Senior Living has a 52-week low of $4.70 and a 52-week high of $8.12. The company’s 50-day moving average is $5.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.46, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market cap of $995.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.43 and a beta of 1.31.

Brookdale Senior Living (NYSE:BKD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.22) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.16) by ($0.06). Brookdale Senior Living had a negative return on equity of 59.06% and a negative net margin of 6.75%. The company had revenue of $784.17 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $785.61 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.22) EPS. On average, analysts predict that Brookdale Senior Living will post -0.68 earnings per share for the current year.

About Brookdale Senior Living

Brookdale Senior Living Inc owns, manages, and operates senior living communities in the United States. It operates in three segments: Independent Living, Assisted Living and Memory Care, and Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRCs). The Independent Living segment owns or leases communities comprising independent and assisted living units in a single community that are primarily designed for middle to upper income seniors.