Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE:FRT) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

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 significant growth in short interest in the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 2,500,000 shares, a growth of 39.7% from the July 31st total of 1,790,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 763,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.3 days. Based on an average daily volume of 763,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.3 days.

Institutional Trading of Federal Realty Investment Trust

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in Federal Realty Investment Trust by 8.0% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 16,324 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,552,000 after acquiring an additional 1,213 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in Federal Realty Investment Trust by 704.1% in the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 25,433 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,388,000 after acquiring an additional 22,270 shares in the last quarter. FORA Capital LLC raised its holdings in Federal Realty Investment Trust by 75.2% in the second quarter. FORA Capital LLC now owns 11,892 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,130,000 after acquiring an additional 5,103 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in Federal Realty Investment Trust by 72.3% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,543 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $432,000 after acquiring an additional 1,906 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Federal Realty Investment Trust by 12.8% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,169 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $586,000 after acquiring an additional 702 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FRT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Federal Realty Investment Trust from $106.00 to $105.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 27th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Federal Realty Investment Trust from $118.00 to $103.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Federal Realty Investment Trust from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 27th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Federal Realty Investment Trust from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Federal Realty Investment Trust from $135.00 to $120.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $109.31.

Federal Realty Investment Trust Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of FRT traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $101.74. 556,679 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 656,738. The company has a market cap of $8.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 1.16. Federal Realty Investment Trust has a fifty-two week low of $80.65 and a fifty-two week high of $118.34. 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's 50-day moving average is $96.08 and its 200-day moving average is $95.76.

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

Federal Realty Investment Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be given a dividend of $1.13 per share. This is a boost from Federal Realty Investment Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 1st. Federal Realty Investment Trust's dividend payout ratio is currently 111.39%.

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.