Realty Income (NYSE:O) Sets New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Realty Income Corporation (NYSE:O) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $61.95 and last traded at $61.7460, with a volume of 414250 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $61.46.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on O. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $61.00 price target on shares of Realty Income in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Realty Income from $63.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Barclays upped their price target on Realty Income from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Realty Income from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $69.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut their target price on Realty Income from $64.00 to $60.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Realty Income presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $63.21.

Realty Income Trading Up 0.5%

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 1.53. The firm has a market cap of $56.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.79.

Realty Income (NYSE:O) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.01. Realty Income had a return on equity of 2.45% and a net margin of 17.17%.The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.05 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Realty Income Corporation will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Realty Income Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.2%. Realty Income’s payout ratio is currently 300.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Realty Income

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA bought a new stake in Realty Income in the 4th quarter worth approximately $432,000. ABN AMRO Bank N.V. boosted its stake in shares of Realty Income by 49.0% in the 4th quarter. ABN AMRO Bank N.V. now owns 6,995 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $397,000 after buying an additional 2,300 shares during the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Realty Income by 56.3% in the fourth quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,522 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $480,000 after acquiring an additional 3,071 shares during the period. Midwest Trust Co increased its position in Realty Income by 37.8% during the fourth quarter. Midwest Trust Co now owns 5,264 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $297,000 after acquiring an additional 1,444 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Realty Income by 44.8% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 26,449 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,491,000 after acquiring an additional 8,178 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.81% of the company’s stock.

Realty Income Company Profile

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.