Short Interest in AMREP Co. (NYSE:AXR) Increases By 9.8%

AMREP Co. (NYSE:AXR) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 21,200 shares, a growth of 9.8% from the November 30th total of 19,300 shares. Currently, 0.8% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 23,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.9 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder James H. Dahl bought 1,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $29.95 per share, with a total value of $53,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 434,574 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,015,491.30. This trade represents a 0.42 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Robotti sold 13,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.56, for a total value of $410,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 296,594 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,360,506.64. This represents a 4.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 37.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AMREP

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AXR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of AMREP by 26,700.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,876 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 1,869 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of AMREP by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 30,825 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $915,000 after purchasing an additional 1,589 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp bought a new stake in shares of AMREP during the 3rd quarter worth $216,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new position in shares of AMREP in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in AMREP by 137.2% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 269,287 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,995,000 after buying an additional 155,755 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.85% of the company’s stock.

AMREP Stock Performance

AXR stock opened at $31.81 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.90. The company has a market capitalization of $168.18 million, a P/E ratio of 18.07 and a beta of 0.92. AMREP has a 52-week low of $15.88 and a 52-week high of $39.67.

AMREP (NYSE:AXR) last announced its earnings results on Friday, December 13th. The business services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. AMREP had a return on equity of 8.05% and a net margin of 15.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of AMREP from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th.

About AMREP

AMREP Corporation, through its subsidiaries, primarily engages in the real estate business. The company operates through two segments, Land Development and Homebuilding. It sells developed and undeveloped lots to homebuilders, commercial and industrial property developers, and others. In addition, the company owns mineral interests covering an area of approximately 55,000 surface acres of land in Sandoval County, New Mexico; and owns oil, gas, and minerals and mineral interests covering an area of approximately 147 surface acres of land in Brighton, Colorado.