Four Corners Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FCPT) Shares Shorted: Short Interest Down 36.3% in September

Key Points

• Short interest fell sharply: Shares sold short dropped 36.3% to 2.89 million as of September 30, representing 2.7% of FCPT’s outstanding shares and 1.9 days to cover.
• FCPT reported mixed operating results and offers a high yield: Quarterly EPS of $0.45 beat estimates by $0.16, while revenue of $78.42 million slightly missed expectations. The company declared a monthly dividend of $0.1265 per share, equivalent to a 7.0% annualized yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: Analysts have assigned five Buy and six Hold ratings, producing an overall “Hold” consensus and an average price target of $27.73 versus the reported share price of $21.77.

Four Corners Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FCPT - Get Free Report) was the target of a large drop in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 2,894,303 shares, a drop of 36.3% from the September 15th total of 4,546,919 shares. Currently, 2.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,550,303 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.9 days.

Four Corners Property Trust Stock Up 1.8%

NYSE:FCPT opened at $21.77 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $23.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.50. Four Corners Property Trust has a 52-week low of $20.85 and a 52-week high of $26.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a current ratio of 0.14. The company has a market cap of $2.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.89 and a beta of 0.80.

Four Corners Property Trust (NYSE:FCPT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $78.42 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $79.02 million. Four Corners Property Trust had a return on equity of 7.35% and a net margin of 38.70%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.44 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Four Corners Property Trust will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Four Corners Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.1265 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 31st. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.0%. Four Corners Property Trust's payout ratio is currently 132.43%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Four Corners Property Trust

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FCPT. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of Four Corners Property Trust by 105.8% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,134 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 583 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Four Corners Property Trust by 326.1% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,649 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 1,262 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Four Corners Property Trust during the 2nd quarter worth about $45,000. Nykredit A S acquired a new position in shares of Four Corners Property Trust during the 2nd quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Four Corners Property Trust by 44.1% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,181 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 667 shares during the last quarter. 98.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FCPT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings lowered Four Corners Property Trust from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Huntington initiated coverage on Four Corners Property Trust in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $27.00 price objective for the company. Citizens Jmp restated a "market outperform" rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of Four Corners Property Trust in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Four Corners Property Trust from $29.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Four Corners Property Trust from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $27.73.

About Four Corners Property Trust

Four Corners Property Trust, Inc is a real estate investment trust that owns and manages a portfolio of primarily restaurant and retail properties. The company generally leases its properties to tenants under long-term, net lease agreements, under which tenants are typically responsible for property taxes, insurance and maintenance expenses.

Four Corners was formed through a 2015 spin-off from Darden Restaurants, Inc, separating Darden's real estate assets from its restaurant operating business.

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