Getty Realty Corp. Explodes To Even Higher Highs

While most other real estate investment trusts (REITs) are heading lower as the year ends, Getty Realty Corp. GTY is blasting off to even higher highs. 

It’s an extraordinary achievement considering that the two benchmark exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for the sector are only slightly above their October lows and negative for 2022.

The iShares U.S. Real Estate ETF IYR is down for the year by 24%. The Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund XLRE is down by 26%. Meantime, Getty Realty Corp. is up by 17% from the beginning of January to now.

Getty is a net lease REIT with a focus on convenience and automotive retail real estate. The New York-based company has 1,021 properties in 38 states and in Washington, D.C. The name sounds familiar because the REIT was a 1997 spinoff of the petroleum giant Getty Petroleum.

Getty Realty trades with a price-earnings ratio of 20 and at just over two times its book value. Funds from operations (FFO) this year are off by 15.3%. The past five-year FFO growth rate is 3.3%. For a New York Stock Exchange security, it’s relatively lightly traded with an average daily volume of 322,000.

Market capitalization is $1.62 billion, on the small side compared to the major REITS in the sector. American Tower Corp. AMT, for example, has a market cap of $98 billion.

Getty is paying a 4.96% dividend.

The daily price chart looks like this:

Those who bought shares in mid-May or mid-June and held on must be delighted with the move upward since then. From $24 to $34 is a 41% gain. What’s semi-astonishing, though, is the way Getty Realty is outperforming all other REITs that trade.

Here’s the weekly price chart:

The March 2020 pandemic-scare low at $14 is clear on this chart. Note the heavy buying volume coming in during 2022’s third quarter. Getty Realty is one of the few REITs now trading above the 50-week moving average and the 200-week moving average.

The company’s investments in convenience store sites are paying off as consumers look to cut shopping costs and as the price of a tank of gas comes down.

Not investment advice. For educational purposes only.

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