CTO Realty Growth, Inc. (NYSE:CTO) Short Interest Up 21.8% in March

CTO Realty Growth, Inc. (NYSE:CTO) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 738,067 shares, an increase of 21.8% from the February 26th total of 605,843 shares. Approximately 2.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 344,047 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CTO Realty Growth

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CTO Realty Growth during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,724,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of CTO Realty Growth by 5.6% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 769,177 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,278,000 after purchasing an additional 40,694 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of CTO Realty Growth by 64.4% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 163,158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,816,000 after purchasing an additional 63,926 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in CTO Realty Growth by 10.2% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 55,816 shares of the company’s stock worth $963,000 after purchasing an additional 5,167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in CTO Realty Growth by 3.4% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 522,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,022,000 after purchasing an additional 17,334 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.18% of the company’s stock.

CTO Realty Growth Stock Performance

CTO opened at $18.48 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $601.84 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 205.40 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a fifty day moving average of $18.74 and a 200 day moving average of $17.74. CTO Realty Growth has a fifty-two week low of $15.06 and a fifty-two week high of $20.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 4.88 and a current ratio of 4.88.

CTO Realty Growth (NYSE:CTO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.32. CTO Realty Growth had a net margin of 6.75% and a return on equity of 1.76%. The business had revenue of $38.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $37.91 million. CTO Realty Growth has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.110-2.160 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that CTO Realty Growth will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CTO Realty Growth Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 12th were given a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 12th. CTO Realty Growth’s payout ratio is currently 1,688.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on CTO. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of CTO Realty Growth to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of CTO Realty Growth from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. JonesTrading restated a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 price objective on shares of CTO Realty Growth in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Zacks Research cut shares of CTO Realty Growth from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, Alliance Global Partners reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of CTO Realty Growth in a report on Friday, February 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CTO Realty Growth currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $21.00.

CTO Realty Growth Company Profile

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.