Retail Opportunity Investments (NASDAQ:ROIC) Sees Large Volume Increase – Here’s Why

Shares of Retail Opportunity Investments Corp. (NASDAQ:ROIC) saw strong trading volume on Friday . 2,842,959 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 206% from the previous session’s volume of 929,414 shares.The stock last traded at $17.38 and had previously closed at $17.39.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Retail Opportunity Investments from $17.00 to $17.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Raymond James lowered shares of Retail Opportunity Investments from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Baird R W downgraded shares of Retail Opportunity Investments from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $17.50 price objective (up from $16.00) on shares of Retail Opportunity Investments in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded Retail Opportunity Investments from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $16.20.

Retail Opportunity Investments Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $17.32 and a 200 day moving average of $15.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92. The company has a market capitalization of $2.23 billion, a PE ratio of 37.74 and a beta of 1.46.

Retail Opportunity Investments (NASDAQ:ROIC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.26 by ($0.01). Retail Opportunity Investments had a net margin of 17.38% and a return on equity of 4.32%. The company had revenue of $83.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $82.13 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.27 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Retail Opportunity Investments Corp. will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Retail Opportunity Investments Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 20th. Retail Opportunity Investments’s payout ratio is currently 130.43%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Retail Opportunity Investments

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in shares of Retail Opportunity Investments by 1.1% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 428,775 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,330,000 after purchasing an additional 4,718 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Retail Opportunity Investments by 16.0% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 185,236 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,302,000 after acquiring an additional 25,574 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Retail Opportunity Investments by 2.7% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 35,555 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $442,000 after acquiring an additional 927 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Retail Opportunity Investments during the second quarter worth about $114,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Retail Opportunity Investments during the second quarter valued at approximately $82,000. 97.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Retail Opportunity Investments Company Profile

Retail Opportunity Investments Corp. (Nasdaq: ROIC), is a fully integrated, self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT) that specializes in the acquisition, ownership and management of grocery-anchored shopping centers located in densely populated, metropolitan markets across the West Coast. As of December 31, 2023, ROIC owned 94 shopping centers encompassing approximately 10.6 million square feet.