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

Key Points

• Short interest surged 70.2% to 1.75 million shares as of August 14, representing 4.9% of CTO Realty Growth’s outstanding shares and 4.8 days of average trading volume.
• Analysts remain bullish, with a consensus “Buy” rating and a $24.50 price target; several firms recently upgraded the stock or raised their targets.
• CTO reported quarterly EPS of $0.38, well above the $0.10 consensus estimate, and declared a $0.38 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 7.1% annualized yield.

CTO Realty Growth, Inc. (NYSE:CTO - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in August. As of August 14th, there was short interest totaling 1,746,153 shares, a growth of 70.2% from the July 30th total of 1,025,694 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 364,403 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.8 days. Currently, 4.9% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CTO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded CTO Realty Growth from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Alliance Global Partners reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of CTO Realty Growth in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Zacks Research raised CTO Realty Growth from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on CTO Realty Growth from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, JonesTrading boosted their price target on shares of CTO Realty Growth from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have given a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, CTO Realty Growth currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $24.50.

CTO Realty Growth Price Performance

CTO stock traded down $0.27 during trading on Monday, hitting $21.30. The stock had a trading volume of 440,908 shares, compared to its average volume of 321,546. CTO Realty Growth has a twelve month low of $15.06 and a twelve month high of $22.71. The company's 50-day moving average price is $21.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 8.69 and a quick ratio of 8.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $798.54 million, a P/E ratio of 15.66 and a beta of 0.60.

CTO Realty Growth (NYSE:CTO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $43.83 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $42.31 million. CTO Realty Growth had a return on equity of 8.90% and a net margin of 32.63%.CTO Realty Growth has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.210-2.250 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that CTO Realty Growth will post 2.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CTO Realty Growth Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 10th will be issued a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 10th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.1%. CTO Realty Growth's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 111.76%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CTO Realty Growth

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in CTO Realty Growth during the 2nd quarter valued at about $77,576,000. Miller Value Partners LLC purchased a new position in CTO Realty Growth in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $11,613,000. Man Group plc acquired a new position in shares of CTO Realty Growth during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $8,160,000. SummitTX Capital L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of CTO Realty Growth in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,016,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of CTO Realty Growth in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,691,000. 67.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About CTO Realty Growth

CTO Realty Growth, Inc is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that specializes in single-tenant net lease properties. The company's primary focus is on acquiring, owning and managing retail assets leased to creditworthy operators under long-term, triple-net lease agreements. By targeting essential retail segments, CTO Realty Growth seeks to generate stable, inflation-protected income streams while maintaining a disciplined investment approach.

The REIT's portfolio is concentrated in convenience store and fuel service locations, with additional assets in other retail categories where net lease structures prevail.

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