Gladstone Land Co. (NASDAQ:LAND) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Gladstone Land Co. (NASDAQ:LAND - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 781,700 shares, a growth of 16.6% from the December 15th total of 670,500 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 273,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Alliance Global Partners lowered Gladstone Land from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $16.00 to $14.50 in a report on Friday, November 8th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in Gladstone Land by 224.2% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,929 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,334 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Gladstone Land during the 3rd quarter worth about $50,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Gladstone Land by 45.3% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,409 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $159,000 after buying an additional 3,556 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Gladstone Land by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 15,016 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $163,000 after buying an additional 2,736 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in Gladstone Land during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $180,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 53.60% of the company's stock.

Gladstone Land Price Performance

Shares of Gladstone Land stock traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $10.77. The stock had a trading volume of 268,825 shares, compared to its average volume of 312,437. Gladstone Land has a twelve month low of $10.27 and a twelve month high of $15.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $389.71 million, a PE ratio of -41.42, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.05. The stock's 50 day moving average is $11.29 and its 200 day moving average is $12.97.

Gladstone Land Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.0467 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.20%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Gladstone Land's payout ratio is -215.38%.

About Gladstone Land

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.