Short Interest in Broadstone Net Lease, Inc. (NYSE:BNL) Expands By 58.6%

Broadstone Net Lease, Inc. (NYSE:BNL) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,250,000 shares, an increase of 58.6% from the January 31st total of 2,680,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,060,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.0 days. Currently, 2.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Broadstone Net Lease

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BNL. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Broadstone Net Lease by 35.3% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 7,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,000 after purchasing an additional 1,908 shares during the last quarter. abrdn plc boosted its holdings in shares of Broadstone Net Lease by 10.5% in the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 37,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $714,000 after acquiring an additional 3,592 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in Broadstone Net Lease by 636.6% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,941 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 3,406 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Broadstone Net Lease by 12.3% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 32,419 shares of the company’s stock worth $591,000 after buying an additional 3,558 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BSW Wealth Partners purchased a new position in shares of Broadstone Net Lease in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $758,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.07% of the company’s stock.

Broadstone Net Lease Price Performance

Shares of BNL stock traded down $0.08 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $16.77. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 882,155 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,063,995. The company has a market capitalization of $3.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.27 and a beta of 1.11. Broadstone Net Lease has a 1-year low of $14.20 and a 1-year high of $19.15. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $15.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.14.

Broadstone Net Lease (NYSE:BNL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.16. Broadstone Net Lease had a return on equity of 5.10% and a net margin of 37.62%. The company had revenue of $112.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.80 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Broadstone Net Lease will post 1.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Broadstone Net Lease Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Broadstone Net Lease’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 133.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Citizens Jmp upgraded Broadstone Net Lease from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Broadstone Net Lease in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $18.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JMP Securities raised Broadstone Net Lease from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $21.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.60.

About Broadstone Net Lease

Broadstone Net Lease, Inc (the Corporation) is a Maryland corporation formed on October 18, 2007, that elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust (REIT) commencing with the taxable year ended December 31, 2008. Broadstone Net Lease, LLC (the Corporation’s operating company, or the OP), is the entity through which the Corporation conducts its business and owns (either directly or through subsidiaries) all of the Corporation’s properties.