Brookdale Senior Living Inc. (NYSE:BKD) Short Interest Down 6.1% in January

Brookdale Senior Living Inc. (NYSE:BKD - Get Free Report) saw a significant drop in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,640,000 shares, a drop of 6.1% from the December 31st total of 9,200,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,980,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.4 days. Approximately 4.9% of the company's stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Macquarie reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $8.00 target price on shares of Brookdale Senior Living in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Brookdale Senior Living in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. They set a "buy" rating and a $8.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $8.00 price objective on shares of Brookdale Senior Living in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $7.50.

Brookdale Senior Living Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BKD traded up $0.07 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $4.71. The company had a trading volume of 1,323,899 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,213,969. Brookdale Senior Living has a twelve month low of $4.51 and a twelve month high of $8.12. 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 capitalization of $937.30 million, a PE ratio of -5.11 and a beta of 1.29. The firm's fifty day moving average is $5.11 and its 200 day moving average is $6.06.

Brookdale Senior Living (NYSE:BKD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.16) by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $784.17 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $785.61 million. Brookdale Senior Living had a negative net margin of 6.75% and a negative return on equity of 59.06%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.22) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Brookdale Senior Living will post -0.68 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brookdale Senior Living

In other news, Director Lee S. Wielansky sold 10,000 shares of Brookdale Senior Living stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 211,382 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,187,966.84. This trade represents a 4.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brookdale Senior Living

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BKD. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Brookdale Senior Living by 11.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,826,807 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,144,000 after buying an additional 799,744 shares in the last quarter. Rush Island Management LP raised its position in shares of Brookdale Senior Living by 31.9% during the third quarter. Rush Island Management LP now owns 5,116,632 shares of the company's stock worth $34,742,000 after purchasing an additional 1,237,727 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Brookdale Senior Living by 2.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,365,480 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,648,000 after purchasing an additional 89,344 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Brookdale Senior Living by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,765,590 shares of the company's stock worth $18,778,000 after purchasing an additional 145,283 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vision Capital Corp raised its holdings in shares of Brookdale Senior Living by 27.8% during the third quarter. Vision Capital Corp now owns 1,838,440 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,483,000 after acquiring an additional 400,000 shares during the period.

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.