CTO Realty Growth, Inc. (NYSE:CTO) Short Interest Update

CTO Realty Growth, Inc. (NYSE:CTO) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,720,000 shares, a growth of 20.3% from the January 31st total of 1,430,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 369,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.7 days.

CTO Realty Growth Stock Performance

NYSE CTO opened at $19.29 on Friday. CTO Realty Growth has a 1-year low of $16.33 and a 1-year high of $21.15. The company has a market capitalization of $614.19 million, a P/E ratio of -87.67 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $19.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 3.96 and a quick ratio of 3.96.

CTO Realty Growth (NYSE:CTO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $35.74 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.39 million. CTO Realty Growth had a negative return on equity of 0.38% and a negative net margin of 1.58%. Sell-side analysts expect that CTO Realty Growth will post 1.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CTO Realty Growth Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. CTO Realty Growth’s dividend payout ratio is presently -690.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on CTO. StockNews.com cut CTO Realty Growth from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, March 1st. B. Riley reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $23.00 price target (up from $22.50) on shares of CTO Realty Growth in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CTO Realty Growth currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CTO Realty Growth by 118.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,514,789 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,566,000 after purchasing an additional 1,364,637 shares during the last quarter. Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC lifted its position in CTO Realty Growth by 26.2% in the third quarter. Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC now owns 989,073 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,812,000 after purchasing an additional 205,383 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of CTO Realty Growth by 30.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 679,893 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,403,000 after acquiring an additional 160,593 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its position in shares of CTO Realty Growth by 29.1% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 509,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,046,000 after acquiring an additional 115,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of CTO Realty Growth by 681.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 468,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,235,000 after acquiring an additional 408,632 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.18% of the company’s stock.

About CTO Realty Growth

CTO Realty Growth, Inc is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that owns and operates a portfolio of high-quality, retail-based properties located primarily in higher growth markets in the United States. CTO also externally manages and owns a meaningful interest in Alpine Income Property Trust, Inc (NYSE: PINE), a publicly traded net lease REIT.