Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE:FRT) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE:FRT) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Wednesday morning.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on FRT. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Federal Realty Investment Trust from $126.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Federal Realty Investment Trust from $119.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Federal Realty Investment Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $122.00 to $125.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.46.

Federal Realty Investment Trust Trading Down 6.1 %

Shares of NYSE FRT opened at $105.03 on Wednesday. Federal Realty Investment Trust has a fifty-two week low of $95.97 and a fifty-two week high of $118.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.56. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $109.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $112.13.

Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE:FRT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.73 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73. Federal Realty Investment Trust had a return on equity of 10.01% and a net margin of 24.67%. On average, analysts predict that Federal Realty Investment Trust will post 6.77 EPS for the current year.

Federal Realty Investment Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.19%. Federal Realty Investment Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 127.91%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Federal Realty Investment Trust

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FRT. FIL Ltd grew its stake in shares of Federal Realty Investment Trust by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 35,591 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,984,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. grew its position in Federal Realty Investment Trust by 81.7% in the third quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 238 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its stake in Federal Realty Investment Trust by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,121 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $129,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its position in Federal Realty Investment Trust by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 6,554 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $734,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Federal Realty Investment Trust by 25.0% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 555 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

About Federal Realty Investment Trust

Federal Realty Investment Trust is an equity real estate investment trust, which engages in the provision of ownership, management, and redevelopment of retail and mixed-use properties located primarily in communities where demand exceeds supply in strategically selected metropolitan markets. The company was founded in 1962 and is headquartered in North Bethesda, MD.