City Office REIT (NYSE:CIO) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

City Office REIT (NYSE:CIO) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday.

City Office REIT Stock Performance

Shares of CIO traded down $0.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $4.83. 375,471 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 284,987. The firm has a market cap of $193.72 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -19.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.83. City Office REIT has a 52 week low of $3.45 and a 52 week high of $7.12. The company has a quick ratio of 3.33, a current ratio of 3.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $4.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4.84.

City Office REIT (NYSE:CIO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.42). City Office REIT had a negative return on equity of 0.40% and a negative net margin of 1.50%. The firm had revenue of $44.32 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.47 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.38 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that City Office REIT will post 1.09 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other City Office REIT news, Director Michael Mazan acquired 39,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $4.22 per share, for a total transaction of $164,580.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 39,000 shares in the company, valued at $164,580. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On City Office REIT

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in City Office REIT in the fourth quarter valued at about $972,000. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of City Office REIT by 658.7% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 54,147 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 47,010 shares during the period. Newtyn Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of City Office REIT by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Newtyn Management LLC now owns 3,203,242 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $19,572,000 after buying an additional 23,242 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its stake in City Office REIT by 38.7% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 172,456 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,054,000 after acquiring an additional 48,150 shares during the period. Finally, Pitcairn Co. acquired a new position in shares of City Office REIT during the fourth quarter valued at about $64,000. 70.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

City Office REIT Company Profile

City Office REIT is an internally-managed real estate company focused on acquiring, owning and operating high-quality office properties located predominantly in Sun Belt markets. City Office currently owns or has a controlling interest in 5.7 million square feet of office properties. The Company has elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust for U.S.