SL Green Realty Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:SLG)

SL Green Realty Corp. (NYSE:SLG) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders purchased 2,398 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 80% compared to the average volume of 1,335 call options.

SL Green Realty Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of SLG traded up $0.64 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $63.37. 141,386 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 749,917. The firm has a market cap of $4.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 792.06, a PEG ratio of 5.30 and a beta of 1.82. SL Green Realty has a 12-month low of $45.94 and a 12-month high of $82.81. The company has a current ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 2.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $66.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.66.

SL Green Realty (NYSE:SLG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.45) by $1.90. SL Green Realty had a negative return on equity of 0.10% and a net margin of 2.48%. Sell-side analysts forecast that SL Green Realty will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current year.

SL Green Realty Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.2575 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $3.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.88%. SL Green Realty’s dividend payout ratio is presently 3,862.50%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Craig M. Hatkoff sold 3,455 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.30, for a total value of $229,066.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,052 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $136,047.60. This trade represents a 62.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 5.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SL Green Realty

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in SL Green Realty by 50.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,913,049 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $202,777,000 after purchasing an additional 977,321 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in SL Green Realty during the 4th quarter valued at about $48,050,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in SL Green Realty by 79.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,429,636 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $97,101,000 after acquiring an additional 634,788 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in SL Green Realty by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,830,293 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $735,594,000 after acquiring an additional 564,822 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in SL Green Realty in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SLG. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of SL Green Realty from $80.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of SL Green Realty from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of SL Green Realty from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of SL Green Realty from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of SL Green Realty from $76.00 to $69.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, SL Green Realty has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $71.07.

SL Green Realty Company Profile

3SL Green Realty Corp., Manhattan’s largest office landlord, is a fully integrated real estate investment trust, or REIT, that is focused primarily on acquiring, managing and maximizing value of Manhattan commercial properties. As of June 30, 2022, SL Green held interests in 64 buildings totaling 34.4 million square feet.