Short Interest in Arbor Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ABR) Expands By 5.8%

Arbor Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ABR) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 72,920,000 shares, an increase of 5.8% from the March 15th total of 68,950,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,660,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 15.6 days.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director William C. Green acquired 10,209 shares of Arbor Realty Trust stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $12.93 per share, for a total transaction of $132,002.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 162,809 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,105,120.37. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Arbor Realty Trust

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. raised its position in Arbor Realty Trust by 55.6% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 24,979,705 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $370,199,000 after buying an additional 8,928,167 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Arbor Realty Trust by 84.1% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,690,200 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $99,149,000 after buying an additional 3,055,294 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Arbor Realty Trust by 28.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,436,190 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $160,982,000 after buying an additional 2,103,266 shares during the last quarter. Melia Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arbor Realty Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $18,906,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Arbor Realty Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $18,775,000. 57.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on ABR shares. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $13.00 price target (down previously from $17.00) on shares of Arbor Realty Trust in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. JMP Securities dropped their price objective on shares of Arbor Realty Trust from $19.00 to $17.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Arbor Realty Trust from $12.50 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Arbor Realty Trust from $13.50 to $13.25 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of Arbor Realty Trust from a “d+” rating to a “c” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.71.

Arbor Realty Trust Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of ABR stock traded down $0.11 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $12.07. 4,770,119 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,136,735. The stock has a market cap of $2.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.86 and a beta of 1.97. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $12.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.53. Arbor Realty Trust has a 52-week low of $10.10 and a 52-week high of $17.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a current ratio of 36.02 and a quick ratio of 36.02.

Arbor Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 14.25%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. Arbor Realty Trust’s payout ratio is currently 97.73%.

Arbor Realty Trust Company Profile

Arbor Realty Trust, Inc invests in a diversified portfolio of structured finance assets in the multifamily, single-family rental, and commercial real estate markets in the United States. The company operates through Structured Business and Agency Business segments. It primarily invests in bridge and mezzanine loans, including junior participating interests in first mortgages, and preferred and direct equity, as well as real estate-related joint ventures, real estate-related notes, and various mortgage-related securities.