Short Interest in Boston Omaha Co. (NYSE:BOC) Rises By 6.9%

Boston Omaha Co. (NYSE:BOC - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,090,000 shares, an increase of 6.9% from the November 30th total of 1,020,000 shares. Currently, 3.7% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 109,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 10.0 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $15.00 price target (down from $17.00) on shares of Boston Omaha in a research report on Thursday, September 19th.

Boston Omaha Price Performance

BOC traded down $0.08 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $14.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 161,763 shares, compared to its average volume of 152,762. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $444.88 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -42.97 and a beta of 0.80. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $14.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $14.35. Boston Omaha has a 12 month low of $12.41 and a 12 month high of $16.99.

Boston Omaha (NYSE:BOC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.01) by ($0.04). Boston Omaha had a negative net margin of 9.73% and a negative return on equity of 1.76%. The business had revenue of $27.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.20 million.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Omaha Corp Boston sold 9,077 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.06, for a total value of $109,468.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,903,830 shares in the company, valued at approximately $131,500,189.80. This represents a 0.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 23.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Boston Omaha

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BOC. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Boston Omaha by 9.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,249,746 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,822,000 after buying an additional 105,152 shares during the period. Private Management Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Boston Omaha by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 787,582 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,711,000 after purchasing an additional 93,836 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Boston Omaha by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 533,777 shares of the company's stock worth $7,939,000 after purchasing an additional 21,682 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Boston Omaha by 1.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 492,192 shares of the company's stock worth $7,319,000 after purchasing an additional 9,073 shares during the period. Finally, ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Boston Omaha by 2.3% in the third quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC now owns 271,379 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,035,000 after purchasing an additional 6,047 shares during the last quarter. 60.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Boston Omaha Company Profile

Boston Omaha Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the outdoor billboard advertising business in the southeast United States. It is also involved in the surety insurance and related brokerage, broadband, and asset management businesses. The company was formerly known as REO Plus, Inc and changed its name to Boston Omaha Corporation in March 2015.

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