Real estate stocks report drop in short interest

Real estate stocks reported a drop in short interest at February end from a month ago, with short positions on the S&P 500 real estate stocks coming at 1.95% of the total float, 7 basis points down from 2.02% at January end.

The Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund ETF, or XLRE, which tracks the S&P 500 real estate stocks, gained 0.80% during the month of February. Comparatively, the S&P 500 Index advanced by 3.87%.

Retail REITs saw the biggest decline in stocks sold short to 1.68% from 1.95% a month ago. Bets against Simon Property Group (SPG) fell to 1.16% of the shares outstanding from 1.40%. Meanwhile, bets against Kimco Realty (KIM) dropped to 2.34% from 3.08%.

Healthcare REITs followed, with short positions on the subsector decreasing to 1.31% from 1.47%. Ventas (VTR) posted a decline of 53 basis points to 1.64% as of Feb. 29.

On the contrary, Office REITs reported a significant increase in short seller activities, with short float standing at 3.76%. Specialized REITs also reported an increase.

Here is a look at short interests reported by XLRE subsectors:

Host Hotels & Resorts (HST) remained the most shorted stock as of Feb. 29, with 5.34% of its shares sold short. Weyerhaeuser (WY) was the least shorted stock, with a short position of 0.82% at February end.

Here is a look at the notable short positions of select S&P 500 real estate stocks: