Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Realty Income (NYSE:O)

Realty Income Corporation (NYSE:O) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Investors bought 17,283 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 242% compared to the average volume of 5,057 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Realty Income from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $61.00 target price on shares of Realty Income in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Realty Income in a research note on Monday. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price target on shares of Realty Income from $64.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.23.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of O. Davis Selected Advisers grew its position in shares of Realty Income by 91.5% in the third quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 93,580 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,689,000 after purchasing an additional 44,710 shares during the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Realty Income during the 3rd quarter worth about $128,000. AIA Group Ltd boosted its stake in Realty Income by 160.4% during the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 42,409 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,578,000 after purchasing an additional 26,121 shares during the period. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd grew its holdings in Realty Income by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 89,768 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,457,000 after buying an additional 4,610 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Investment Research Partners LLC bought a new position in Realty Income in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $377,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.81% of the company’s stock.

Realty Income Stock Performance

Shares of O opened at $57.02 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Realty Income has a 12 month low of $50.71 and a 12 month high of $61.08. The company’s fifty day moving average is $57.39 and its 200-day moving average is $58.04. The firm has a market cap of $52.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.80.

Realty Income (NYSE:O) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.05 earnings per share. Realty Income’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. Realty Income has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.250-4.270 EPS. Equities analysts expect 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. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. This is a boost from Realty Income’s previous monthly dividend of $0.27. Realty Income’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.