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

City Office REIT (NYSE:CIO) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday.

City Office REIT Price Performance

NYSE CIO opened at $4.63 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $185.91 million, a PE ratio of -18.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.84. City Office REIT has a 52 week low of $3.45 and a 52 week high of $6.70. 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $4.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $4.85.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Michael Mazan purchased 39,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $4.22 per share, for a total transaction of $164,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 39,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $164,580. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On City Office REIT

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CIO. State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of City Office REIT in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Point72 Middle East FZE bought a new position in shares of City Office REIT in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of City Office REIT in the first quarter worth approximately $39,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in shares of City Office REIT by 736.0% in the third quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,247 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 3,739 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP increased its position in shares of City Office REIT by 2,533.6% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 6,821 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 6,562 shares during the last quarter. 67.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About City Office REIT

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.