Realty Income (NYSE:O) Share Price Breaks Above 50 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Realty Income Corporation (NYSE:O)’s share price crossed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $57.40 and traded as high as $57.72. Realty Income shares last traded at $57.6110, with a volume of 7,090,662 shares trading hands.

Key Stories Impacting Realty Income

Here are the key news stories impacting Realty Income this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Realty Income reported third-quarter funds from operations (FFO) of $1.12 per share, above the $1.11 consensus estimate and up from $1.08 a year earlier. Revenue also exceeded expectations at $1.62 billion versus $1.43 billion, while reported EPS of $0.43 topped estimates by $0.02. The earnings and revenue beats likely improved investor sentiment toward O. Realty Income Corp. Tops Q3 FFO and Revenue Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s quarterly operating-results announcement and earnings call offer evidence of continued operating resilience. Realty Income’s recurring cash-flow profile and long record of monthly dividend payments remain attractive to income-focused investors, particularly with the stock yielding roughly 6%. Realty Income Announces Operating Results
• Positive Sentiment: A sharp pullback in the 10-year Treasury yield is a favorable backdrop for net-lease REITs such as Realty Income. Lower bond yields can make high-dividend stocks more competitive with fixed-income investments and reduce pressure on real-estate valuations. The 10-Year Treasury Yield Fell 33 Basis Points
• Neutral Sentiment: Despite the earnings beat, Realty Income had recently lost momentum, and analysts and investors may focus on the outlook for interest rates, acquisition activity, financing costs and future FFO growth during the earnings call. Realty Income Stock Has Lost Momentum

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on O shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Realty Income from $64.00 to $59.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 19th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Realty Income from $65.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $63.75 target price on Realty Income in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Evercore set a $65.00 target price on shares of Realty Income in a report on Monday, September 21st. Finally, Mizuho set a $187.00 target price on shares of Realty Income in a report on Monday, October 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.34.

Realty Income Trading Up 1.2%

The company has a market cap of $54.51 billion, a PE ratio of 42.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.39 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 5.88 and a quick ratio of 5.88. The company has a 50-day moving average of $57.40 and a 200 day moving average of $61.59.

Realty Income (NYSE:O) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 2nd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.71. The business had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.43 billion. Realty Income had a return on equity of 3.12% and a net margin of 20.93%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Realty Income Corporation will post 4.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Realty Income Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be given a dividend of $0.2715 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. This represents a $3.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.7%. Realty Income’s payout ratio is currently 237.96%.

Institutional Trading of Realty Income

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Realty Income during the second quarter valued at $6,997,219,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Realty Income by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 65,929,425 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,102,484,000 after acquiring an additional 2,166,180 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Realty Income by 10.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 19,117,994 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,184,551,000 after acquiring an additional 1,785,859 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Realty Income by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,018,219 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $796,457,000 after purchasing an additional 154,581 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Realty Income during the 2nd quarter valued at about $643,334,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.81% of the company’s stock.

Realty Income Company Profile

Realty Income Corporation is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns and manages a diversified portfolio of commercial properties. The company primarily invests in single-tenant properties that are leased to businesses under long-term, net lease agreements, under which tenants generally are responsible for property taxes, insurance and maintenance.

Its portfolio includes retail, grocery, convenience store, industrial, distribution and other commercial properties. Realty Income serves a broad range of tenants and seeks to generate recurring rental income through long-term leases.