Short Interest in Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE:FRT) Rises By 24.8%

Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE:FRT - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,520,000 shares, a growth of 24.8% from the March 31st total of 2,020,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 866,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days. Currently, 3.0% of the company's stock are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of FRT. FIL Ltd grew its position 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 valued at $3,984,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its position in Federal Realty Investment Trust by 1.7% in the fourth 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 during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Federal Realty Investment Trust by 2.7% during 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 last quarter. Finally, Keybank National Association OH increased its holdings in shares of Federal Realty Investment Trust by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 2,616 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $293,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FRT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Federal Realty Investment Trust from $119.00 to $107.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $106.00 target price (down from $135.00) on shares of Federal Realty Investment Trust in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Raymond James reduced their price objective on shares of Federal Realty Investment Trust from $125.00 to $117.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Federal Realty Investment Trust from $117.00 to $111.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial lowered Federal Realty Investment Trust from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $114.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Federal Realty Investment Trust presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $116.00.

Federal Realty Investment Trust Trading Up 0.5 %

FRT traded up $0.50 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $95.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 588,902 shares, compared to its average volume of 674,335. The firm has a market cap of $8.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.76, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.10. Federal Realty Investment Trust has a 52-week low of $80.65 and a 52-week high of $118.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $95.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $105.14.

Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE:FRT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.73. The company had revenue of $311.44 million during 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Federal Realty Investment Trust will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Federal Realty Investment Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st were paid a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.62%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 1st. Federal Realty Investment Trust's payout ratio is currently 128.28%.

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.