Hammerson saw a fall in the amount of its stock being shorted during the past week, although the shopping centre owner remains the most shorted real estate stock in the UK.
At the end of last week, roughly 5.8% of Hammerson’s shares had been borrowed by short sellers – which borrow and sell stock in the belief that the share price will fall, allowing them to buy it at a lower cost and make a profit before returning it.
That figure is down from earlier in the year, but was still ahead of the 4.6% of intu’s stock being shorted and the 3.6% shorted at NewRiver REIT, according to research firm Edison Group.
Edison’s analysis showed the number of weekly declarations for shorts among real estate companies fell by almost two-thirds to eight since it peaked at 22 earlier in March.
The firm noted that there are no longer any short positions in Tritax Big Box and UK Commercial Property Trust.
At the declaration peak last month, industrial REITs such as Tritax Big Box and diversified REITs such as UK Commercial Property Trust accounted for 14% and 9% respectively. Now there are no shorts in either segment.
To send feedback, e-mail tim.burke@egi.co.uk or tweet @_tim_burke or @estatesgazette
