CTO Realty Growth, Inc. (NYSE:CTO) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CTO Realty Growth

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CTO. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in CTO Realty Growth by 39.3% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 852 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in CTO Realty Growth by 300.0% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in CTO Realty Growth in the third quarter valued at about $94,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of CTO Realty Growth by 32.3% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 8,666 shares of the company’s stock worth $171,000 after purchasing an additional 2,118 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in CTO Realty Growth in the fourth quarter worth $179,000. Institutional investors own 67.18% of the company’s stock.

CTO Realty Growth Stock Up 2.1 %

NYSE CTO traded up $0.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $19.12. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 130,654 shares, compared to its average volume of 299,775. The company has a current ratio of 3.96, a quick ratio of 3.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $608.84 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -87.05 and a beta of 0.77. CTO Realty Growth has a twelve month low of $16.33 and a twelve month high of $21.15.

CTO Realty Growth (NYSE:CTO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.01 by $0.48. The business 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%. Analysts anticipate that CTO Realty Growth will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current year.

CTO Realty Growth Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.95%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. CTO Realty Growth’s payout ratio is -690.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of CTO Realty Growth from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 1st. B. Riley restated a “buy” rating and issued a $23.00 target price (up from $22.50) on shares of CTO Realty Growth in a research note on Wednesday. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $21.50.

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.