Medalist Diversified REIT, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDRR) Short Interest Up 888.9% in March

Medalist Diversified REIT, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDRR) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 17,800 shares, an increase of 888.9% from the February 29th total of 1,800 shares. Currently, 1.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 8,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Medalist Diversified REIT Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MDRR traded down $0.02 during trading on Thursday, hitting $5.77. 3,072 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,668. The stock has a market cap of $12.92 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.64 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.40. Medalist Diversified REIT has a fifty-two week low of $4.12 and a fifty-two week high of $6.90. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $5.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5.31.

Medalist Diversified REIT Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 1st were given a dividend of $0.01 per share. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 31st. Medalist Diversified REIT’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -2.52%.

Insider Activity at Medalist Diversified REIT

In related news, CEO Frank Kavanaugh acquired 6,749 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $5.75 per share, with a total value of $38,806.75. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 265,787 shares in the company, valued at $1,528,275.25. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 30,264 shares of company stock valued at $170,073. Insiders own 16.92% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Medalist Diversified REIT

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Medalist Diversified REIT by 169.0% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 61,595 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 38,695 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Medalist Diversified REIT during the 1st quarter valued at $75,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Medalist Diversified REIT by 166.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 48,881 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 30,525 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stilwell Value LLC acquired a new position in Medalist Diversified REIT during the third quarter valued at approximately $121,000. 17.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Medalist Diversified REIT Company Profile

Medalist Diversified REIT Inc is a Virginia-based real estate investment trust that specializes in acquiring, owning and managing commercial real estate in the Southeast region of the U.S. The Company's strategy is to focus on commercial real estate which is expected to provide an attractive balance of risk and returns.