Getty Realty Corp. (NYSE:GTY) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Getty Realty Corp. (NYSE:GTY) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 907,100 shares, a drop of 19.0% from the October 15th total of 1,120,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 309,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days.

Getty Realty Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE GTY traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $28.64. 31,561 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 321,152. Getty Realty has a one year low of $25.95 and a one year high of $36.49. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.19. The stock has a market cap of $1.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.11, a P/E/G ratio of 8.23 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 4.19 and a quick ratio of 4.19.

Getty Realty (NYSE:GTY) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.25). Getty Realty had a return on equity of 8.39% and a net margin of 39.13%. The firm had revenue of $48.85 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.68 million. On average, analysts anticipate that Getty Realty will post 2.25 EPS for the current year.

Getty Realty Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 28th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.28%. This is a boost from Getty Realty’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 27th. Getty Realty’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 121.13%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Getty Realty

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Getty Realty in the first quarter worth $695,000. IFP Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in Getty Realty in the second quarter worth $26,000. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Getty Realty by 8,776.9% in the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,141 shares during the period. Natixis acquired a new stake in Getty Realty in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. grew its holdings in Getty Realty by 92.3% in the first quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 1,656 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 795 shares during the period. 83.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GTY has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Getty Realty from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 8th. JMP Securities dropped their price target on shares of Getty Realty from $39.00 to $33.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 19th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Getty Realty in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.33.

About Getty Realty