Gladstone Land Co. (NASDAQ:LAND) Short Interest Up 7.2% in October

Gladstone Land Co. (NASDAQ:LAND - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 557,000 shares, an increase of 7.2% from the September 30th total of 519,700 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 162,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.4 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Maxim Group lowered Gladstone Land from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $16.00.

Gladstone Land Price Performance

Shares of Gladstone Land stock traded down $0.31 on Thursday, hitting $13.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 187,152 shares, compared to its average volume of 179,583. The company has a market capitalization of $466.97 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 220.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $13.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $13.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 4.43 and a current ratio of 4.43. Gladstone Land has a 1 year low of $12.31 and a 1 year high of $15.36.

Gladstone Land Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th will be paid a $0.0467 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 20th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.30%. Gladstone Land's dividend payout ratio is currently 933.33%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gladstone Land

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAND. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Gladstone Land by 3,910.3% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,128 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 3,050 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Gladstone Land in the third quarter worth approximately $50,000. M&G Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Gladstone Land during the first quarter worth approximately $138,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in Gladstone Land in the 1st quarter valued at $152,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Gladstone Land by 41.0% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 12,280 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $171,000 after purchasing an additional 3,572 shares in the last quarter. 53.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gladstone Land Company Profile

Founded in 1997, Gladstone Land is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that acquires and owns farmland and farm-related properties located in major agricultural markets in the U.S. and leases its properties to unrelated third-party farmers. The Company, which reports the aggregate fair value of its farmland holdings on a quarterly basis, currently owns 169 farms, comprised of approximately 116,000 acres in 15 different states and over 45,000 acre-feet of banked water in California, valued at a total of approximately $1.6 billion.