First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FR) Short Interest Update

First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FR) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,670,000 shares, a decline of 5.6% from the July 15th total of 1,770,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 915,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on FR. Wolfe Research upgraded First Industrial Realty Trust from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $64.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on First Industrial Realty Trust in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $57.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of First Industrial Realty Trust from $62.00 to $56.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of First Industrial Realty Trust from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of First Industrial Realty Trust from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.50.

First Industrial Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FR opened at $54.30 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16. First Industrial Realty Trust has a one year low of $40.44 and a one year high of $55.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.02 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s fifty day moving average is $50.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.36.

First Industrial Realty Trust (NYSE:FR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.25). First Industrial Realty Trust had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 44.46%. The firm had revenue of $164.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $163.48 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.61 EPS. First Industrial Realty Trust’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that First Industrial Realty Trust will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Industrial Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. First Industrial Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.20%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FR. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in shares of First Industrial Realty Trust by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 20,610 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,086,000 after purchasing an additional 2,512 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Industrial Realty Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $153,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in shares of First Industrial Realty Trust by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 74,748 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,937,000 after acquiring an additional 2,212 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its holdings in First Industrial Realty Trust by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 28,116 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,481,000 after purchasing an additional 952 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC increased its position in First Industrial Realty Trust by 31.9% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,613 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. 99.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About First Industrial Realty Trust

First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc (NYSE: FR) is a leading U.S.-only owner, operator, developer and acquirer of logistics properties. Through our fully integrated operating and investing platform, we provide high quality facilities and industry-leading customer service to multinational corporations and regional firms that are essential for their supply chains.