Realty Income Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:O)

Key Points

• Realty Income saw unusually large options activity—traders bought 17,283 call options on Tuesday, roughly a 242% increase versus the average volume of 5,057 calls.
• Analysts are mixed: the consensus rating is a “Hold” with an average price target of $62.23, while the stock traded near $57.02, below that target.
• The company declared a monthly dividend of $0.27 (annualized yield ~5.7%), but the dividend payout ratio is an elevated 299%, which may warrant investor scrutiny.

Realty Income Corporation (NYSE:O - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 17,283 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 242% compared to the average volume of 5,057 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Realty Income from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Realty Income from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price target on Realty Income from $64.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Realty Income from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Realty Income from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Realty Income presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $62.23.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Realty Income

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Realty Income in the second quarter valued at about $676,500,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Realty Income by 2.5% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 146,136,211 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $8,418,907,000 after purchasing an additional 3,624,852 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Realty Income by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 26,979,134 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,548,687,000 after purchasing an additional 2,058,031 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its holdings in shares of Realty Income by 420.0% in the 2nd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,139,550 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $123,259,000 after buying an additional 1,728,082 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Realty Income by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 63,028,892 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,831,526,000 after buying an additional 1,295,936 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.81% of the company's stock.

Realty Income Stock Performance

Shares of O stock traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $57.02. 3,481,910 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,623,540. Realty Income has a fifty-two week low of $50.71 and a fifty-two week high of $61.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.80. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $57.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $58.04.

Realty Income (NYSE:O - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.01. Realty Income had a net margin of 17.17% and a return on equity of 2.45%. The business had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.05 earnings per share. Realty Income's revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Realty Income has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.250-4.270 EPS. Analysts predict that Realty Income will post 4.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Realty Income Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Realty Income's previous monthly dividend of $0.27. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.7%. Realty Income's dividend payout ratio is currently 299.07%.

About Realty Income

Realty Income Corporation NYSE: O is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, owns and manages commercial properties subject primarily to long-term net lease agreements. The company's business model focuses on generating predictable, contractual rental income by leasing properties to tenants under agreements that typically place responsibility for taxes, insurance and maintenance on the tenant. Realty Income is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange and markets itself as a reliable income-oriented REIT.

Realty Income's portfolio is concentrated in single-tenant, retail and service-oriented properties such as drugstores, convenience stores, dollar and discount retailers, restaurants, and other essential-service businesses.

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