Critical Survey: Getty Realty (NYSE:GTY) & CTO Realty Growth (NYSE:CTO)

Getty Realty (NYSE:GTY) and CTO Realty Growth (NYSE:CTO) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, institutional ownership, risk and profitability.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

85.1% of Getty Realty shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 67.2% of CTO Realty Growth shares are held by institutional investors. 8.8% of Getty Realty shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.0% of CTO Realty Growth shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Getty Realty and CTO Realty Growth’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Getty Realty	34.76%	7.60%	3.72%
CTO Realty Growth	-22.77%	-5.72%	-2.74%

Dividends

Getty Realty pays an annual dividend of $1.94 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.8%. CTO Realty Growth pays an annual dividend of $1.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 8.5%. Getty Realty pays out 151.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. CTO Realty Growth pays out -117.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Getty Realty has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years. CTO Realty Growth is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Getty Realty and CTO Realty Growth”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Getty Realty	$214.19 million	7.70	$71.06 million	$1.28	22.30
CTO Realty Growth	$146.95 million	3.95	-$1.97 million	($1.29)	-13.91

Getty Realty has higher revenue and earnings than CTO Realty Growth. CTO Realty Growth is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Getty Realty, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility and Risk

Getty Realty has a beta of 0.83, suggesting that its stock price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, CTO Realty Growth has a beta of 0.76, suggesting that its stock price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Getty Realty and CTO Realty Growth, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Getty Realty	0	3	3	0	2.50
CTO Realty Growth	1	0	2	2	3.00

Getty Realty currently has a consensus price target of $31.80, suggesting a potential upside of 11.38%. CTO Realty Growth has a consensus price target of $22.00, suggesting a potential upside of 22.64%. Given CTO Realty Growth’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe CTO Realty Growth is more favorable than Getty Realty.

Summary

Getty Realty beats CTO Realty Growth on 13 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Getty Realty

Getty Realty Corp. is a publicly traded, net lease REIT specializing in the acquisition, financing and development of convenience, automotive and other single tenant retail real estate. As of December 31, 2023, the Company’s portfolio included 1,093 freestanding properties located in 40 states across the United States and Washington, D.C.

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.