Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE:FRT) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE:FRT) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $123.23.

FRT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Federal Realty Investment Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $122.00 to $125.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Raymond James cut their price target on shares of Federal Realty Investment Trust from $125.00 to $117.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Federal Realty Investment Trust from $115.75 to $115.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Federal Realty Investment Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday.

Federal Realty Investment Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FRT opened at $104.52 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $8.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.47, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 1.97. Federal Realty Investment Trust has a fifty-two week low of $95.97 and a fifty-two week high of $118.34. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $108.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $111.91.

Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE:FRT) last posted its 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. The company had revenue of $311.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $311.85 million. Federal Realty Investment Trust had a return on equity of 9.89% and a net margin of 24.38%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Federal Realty Investment Trust will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Federal Realty Investment Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Federal Realty Investment Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 128.28%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Federal Realty Investment Trust

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FRT. FIL Ltd raised its position in shares of Federal Realty Investment Trust by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 35,591 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,984,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew 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 in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its holdings 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 valued at $734,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Federal Realty Investment Trust by 25.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 555 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Federal Realty Investment Trust by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 4,758 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $533,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Federal Realty Investment Trust Company Profile

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.