Short Interest in Sunrise Realty Trust, Inc. (NASDAQ:SUNS) Grows By 58.5%

Sunrise Realty Trust, Inc. (NASDAQ:SUNS) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 832,661 shares, a growth of 58.5% from the February 26th total of 525,381 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 101,517 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 8.2 days. Currently, 6.2% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Insider Transactions at Sunrise Realty Trust

In other news, Chairman Leonard M. Tannenbaum acquired 100,000 shares of Sunrise Realty Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 31st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $9.40 per share, for a total transaction of $940,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chairman directly owned 585,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,505,401.40. This trade represents a 20.59% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 24.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sunrise Realty Trust

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Sunrise Realty Trust by 19.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 588,554 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,115,000 after buying an additional 94,628 shares during the period. Gratia Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Sunrise Realty Trust by 19.9% during the second quarter. Gratia Capital LLC now owns 446,720 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,735,000 after acquiring an additional 74,193 shares during the period. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Sunrise Realty Trust by 55.9% during the third quarter. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC now owns 372,774 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,873,000 after purchasing an additional 133,608 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Sunrise Realty Trust by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 252,711 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,383,000 after purchasing an additional 19,565 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in Sunrise Realty Trust by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 77,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $733,000 after purchasing an additional 5,760 shares in the last quarter.

Sunrise Realty Trust Stock Performance

SUNS stock opened at $7.99 on Friday. Sunrise Realty Trust has a 1 year low of $7.80 and a 1 year high of $11.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $108.02 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.50, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $9.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.66.

Sunrise Realty Trust (NASDAQ:SUNS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $7.17 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.13 million. Sunrise Realty Trust had a return on equity of 7.70% and a net margin of 56.29%. As a group, analysts predict that Sunrise Realty Trust will post 0.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sunrise Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 15.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. Sunrise Realty Trust’s payout ratio is currently 127.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on SUNS shares. Zacks Research lowered shares of Sunrise Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Sunrise Realty Trust in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Sunrise Realty Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Sunrise Realty Trust from $9.50 to $8.75 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Sunrise Realty Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $10.38.

About Sunrise Realty Trust

Sunrise Realty Trust is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that focuses on acquiring, owning and leasing convenience store and fuel retail properties under long-term net leases. The company targets sale-leaseback transactions and joint-venture investments with high-credit tenants in the convenience retail sector. Sunrise Realty Trust’s portfolio comprises single-tenant properties that benefit from predictable cash flows, structured lease agreements and tenant-driven site improvements, providing exposure to a segment of the retail real estate market that aligns closely with consumer essentials.

The company’s primary business activities include sourcing and underwriting new property investments, negotiating sale-leaseback and ground lease transactions, and managing asset performance throughout the lease term.