Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE:FRT) Short Interest Up 39.7% in August

Key Points

• Short interest in Federal Realty Investment Trust increased by 39.7% in August, reaching a total of 2,500,000 shares as of August 15th.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.13 per share, marking an increase from the previous dividend of $1.10.
• Federal Realty's latest earnings report indicated an EPS of $1.91, surpassing expectations of $1.73, with a net revenue of $302.48 million for the quarter.

Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE:FRT - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 2,500,000 shares, anincreaseof39.7% from the July 31st total of 1,790,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 763,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.3 days. Based on an average trading volume of 763,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.3 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on FRT shares. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Federal Realty Investment Trust from $118.00 to $103.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Federal Realty Investment Trust from $113.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 27th. Raymond James Financial lowered their target price on shares of Federal Realty Investment Trust from $117.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Federal Realty Investment Trust from $106.00 to $105.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 27th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Federal Realty Investment Trust from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $110.79.

Institutional Trading of Federal Realty Investment Trust

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Federal Realty Investment Trust by 0.6% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 155,434 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $15,205,000 after purchasing an additional 917 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Federal Realty Investment Trust by 10.4% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 7,124 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $697,000 after buying an additional 674 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Federal Realty Investment Trust by 5.6% in the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,844 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $278,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank lifted its holdings in Federal Realty Investment Trust by 1.0% in the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 15,284 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,495,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in Federal Realty Investment Trust by 3.1% in the first quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 60,214 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $5,890,000 after buying an additional 1,800 shares during the period. 93.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Federal Realty Investment Trust Price Performance

Federal Realty Investment Trust stock traded down $1.00 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $101.68. 774,300 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 683,595. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 2.14 and a current ratio of 2.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 1.16. Federal Realty Investment Trust has a 12 month low of $80.65 and a 12 month high of $118.34. The business's 50-day moving average is $95.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.74.

Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE:FRT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.18. Federal Realty Investment Trust had a net margin of 28.01% and a return on equity of 11.19%. The firm had revenue of $302.48 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $309.25 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.69 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Federal Realty Investment Trust will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Federal Realty Investment Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. This is an increase from Federal Realty Investment Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 1st. Federal Realty Investment Trust's payout ratio is currently 114.43%.

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.

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