Most and least shorted REIT stocks with up to $2B market cap as of mid-Feb

[REIT, Real Estate Investment Trust. Business concept. A fund or company that invests in real estate. Real estate portfolio. Buying REIT shares on the stock exchange. Dividends, rental income]
Andrzej Rostek

Smallcap stocks have seen a solid start to 2026, with the State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 600 Small Cap ETF up ~9% year-to-date.

Comparatively, the S&P 500 index is in negative territory, having logged about a -0.15% return year-to-date.

With interest rate cuts looming [https://seekingalpha.com/article/4864361-trumps-new-fed-chair-kevin-warsh-the-impact-and-rate-path-for-2026], inflation decreasing [https://seekingalpha.com/article/4870179-january-cpi-lower-inflation-but-not-a-reason-to-cut-rates], and the economy holding relatively steady [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4551930-goldman-sachs-solomon-economic-landscape-for-2026-is-quite-good-with-a-constructive], investors are readying for a breakout in smallcap stocks, a recent report [https://www.capitaliq.spglobal.com/apisv3/spg-webplatform-core/news/article?id=96785014&KeyProductLinkType=14&utm_campaign=top_news_3&utm_medium=top_news&utm_source=news_home] by S&P Global Market Intelligence said.

The smallcap rally is expected to intensify in 2026, the report said, citing Tyler Richey, a co-editor with Sevens Report Research.

Considering the current scenario, Seeking Alpha has compiled a list of the most and least shorted REIT stocks (with a market cap up to $2B) as of mid-February.

Short interest is the percentage of shares outstanding that have been sold short but have not yet been covered or closed out. Extremely high short interest shows investors are very pessimistic.

MOST SHORTED STOCKS:

* Netstreit (NTST [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/NTST]) - 22.31% of shares outstanding
* JBG SMITH Properties (JBGS [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/JBGS]) - 16.84% of shares outstanding
* Pebblebrook Hotel Trust (PEB [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/PEB]) - 15.83% of shares outstanding
* Hudson Pacific Properties (HPP [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/HPP]) - 11.22% of shares outstanding
* Innovative Industrial Properties (IIPR [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/IIPR]) - 10.79% of shares outstanding

LEAST SHORTED STOCKS:

* Strawberry Fields REIT (STRW [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/STRW]) - 0.54% of shares outstanding
* MacKenzie Realty Capital (MKZR [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/MKZR]) - 0.55% of shares outstanding
* Medalist Diversified REIT (MDRR [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/MDRR]) - 0.92% of shares outstanding
* BRT Apartments (BRT [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/BRT]) - 0.93% of shares outstanding
* One Liberty Properties (OLP [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/OLP]) - 0.98% of shares outstanding

MORE ON REAL ESTATE

* Market Sector Review: Extreme Market Bifurcation [https://seekingalpha.com/article/4870638-market-sector-review-extreme-market-bifurcation]
* U.S. Economy: Housing Is Going Nowhere In 2026 [https://seekingalpha.com/article/4869026-us-economy-housing-is-going-nowhere-in-2026]
* Affordability Is The New Macro Trade: Here's How I'm Positioning For The Winners [https://seekingalpha.com/article/4861507-affordability-is-the-new-macro-trade-heres-how-im-positioning-for-the-winners]
* Earnings Scorecard: 5 of 8 S&P 500 real estate companies post lower earnings [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4552202-earnings-scorecard-5-of-8-sp-500-real-estate-companies-post-lower-earnings]
* Most and least shorted REIT stocks with over $2B market cap [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4552063-most-and-least-shorted-reit-stocks-with-over-2b-market-cap]