Short Interest in CTO Realty Growth, Inc. (NYSE:CTO) Expands By 46.1%

CTO Realty Growth, Inc. (NYSE:CTO) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,380,000 shares, a growth of 46.1% from the November 15th total of 944,500 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 510,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Insider Activity at CTO Realty Growth

In related news, CEO John P. Albright sold 29,488 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.71, for a total value of $610,696.48. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 5.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CTO Realty Growth

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CTO. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. bought a new stake in shares of CTO Realty Growth during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in CTO Realty Growth by 45.4% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 557 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in CTO Realty Growth during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of CTO Realty Growth by 17.5% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 673 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of CTO Realty Growth during the third quarter worth $94,000. 67.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CTO Realty Growth Trading Up 0.2 %

CTO opened at $20.13 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.99. CTO Realty Growth has a twelve month low of $16.16 and a twelve 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 stock has a market capitalization of $603.42 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.12 and a beta of 0.77.

CTO Realty Growth (NYSE:CTO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $31.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.15 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.48 EPS. Analysts predict that CTO Realty Growth will post 1.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CTO Realty Growth Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 12th will be issued a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 12th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.55%. CTO Realty Growth’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 257.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CTO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Raymond James raised shares of CTO Realty Growth from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $22.00 to $24.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com cut CTO Realty Growth from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CTO Realty Growth currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price 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.