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

CTO Realty Growth, Inc. (NYSE:CTO) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,500,000 shares, an increase of 8.7% from the November 30th total of 1,380,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 433,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days.

CTO Realty Growth Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of CTO Realty Growth stock traded up $0.08 on Wednesday, hitting $19.71. 368,392 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 278,513. CTO Realty Growth has a 12-month low of $16.16 and a 12-month high of $21.15. The company has a quick ratio of 3.96, a current ratio of 3.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $590.83 million, a PE ratio of 33.41 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $19.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.19.

CTO Realty Growth (NYSE:CTO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.27). CTO Realty Growth had a net margin of 17.10% and a return on equity of 4.04%. The firm had revenue of $31.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.15 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.48 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that CTO Realty Growth will post 1.8 earnings per share for the current year.

CTO Realty Growth Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, December 12th were given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.71%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 12th. CTO Realty Growth’s payout ratio is presently 257.63%.

Insider Activity at CTO Realty Growth

In related news, CEO John P. Albright sold 29,488 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.71, for a total value of $610,696.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 570,554 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,816,173.34. This represents a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 5.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of CTO Realty Growth

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CTO. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of CTO Realty Growth in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in CTO Realty Growth by 45.4% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 557 shares during the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in CTO Realty Growth during the third quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of CTO Realty Growth in the third quarter valued at approximately $94,000. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of CTO Realty Growth by 65.6% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,497 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,000 after buying an additional 2,970 shares during the last quarter. 67.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on CTO shares. StockNews.com lowered CTO Realty Growth from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Raymond James raised CTO Realty Growth from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $22.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.00.

CTO Realty Growth Company Profile

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.