US equity real estate investment trusts recorded an increase in average short interest in May, rising 11 basis points to 3.7% of shares outstanding.
CorEnergy buoys energy infrastructure segment's short interest
The energy infrastructure segment booked the biggest gain in average short interest across all property types, increasing 73 basis points from the prior month to 1.7% of shares outstanding as of May 31, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.
The gain was mostly attributed to a sizable increase in CorEnergy Infrastructure Trust Inc.'s short interest relative to shares outstanding, up 1.5 percentage points to 3.1%, the 10th biggest hike among all US REITs.
Another energy infrastructure REIT, Power REIT, however, logged a 5-basis-point drop in short interest over the same period to 0.4% of shares outstanding.
The industrial sector posted the second largest hike, rising 55 basis points to 3.4% of shares outstanding as of May 31. The segment was led by Rexford Industrial Realty Inc., which had the highest increase in short interest among all US REITs, up 4.4 percentage points to 5.9% of its shares outstanding. Two other industrial REITs were among the 10 biggest gainers in short interest: STAG Industrial Inc. and Industrial Logistics Properties Trust, which earned 2.7 and 1.6 percentage points, respectively.
On the other hand, the advertising sector had the biggest decline in average short interest across all property types, losing 62 basis points over the preceding month to 2.7% of shares outstanding as of the end of May. The timber and residential sectors also posted decreases in average short interest during the same period, falling 15 and 11 basis points, respectively.
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Top REITs by change in short interest
Next to Rexford Industrial, hotel owner Pebblebrook Hotel Trust logged the second-biggest increase in short interest in May, with a 2.9-percentage-point hike to 17% of its shares outstanding.
Single-tenant REIT Essential Properties Realty Trust Inc. registered the largest drop in short interest relative to shares outstanding, losing 2 percentage points to 1.7% as of May-end.
REITs with largest short positions
Office-focused SL Green Realty Corp. continued to be the most-shorted US REIT stock, with 17.4 million shares sold short as of May 31, or 27.1% of its shares outstanding. Healthcare REIT Medical Properties Trust Inc. followed with short interest of 20.1%, and Pebblebrook Hotel was in third place.
