Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE:FRT) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest in Federal Realty Investment Trust decreased by 26% in August, with a total of 1,850,000 shares sold short, reflecting approximately 2.2% of total shares.
• The company reported an EPS of $1.91 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.73, while quarterly revenue rose 5.2% compared to the previous year.
• Federal Realty Investment Trust recently increased its quarterly dividend to $1.13 per share, yielding 4.5%, marking a boost from the previous dividend of $1.10.

Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE:FRT - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,850,000 shares, a decrease of 26.0% from the August 15th total of 2,500,000 shares. Approximately 2.2% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 759,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days. Based on an average daily volume of 759,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days. Approximately 2.2% of the company's shares are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Federal Realty Investment Trust

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Federal Realty Investment Trust by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 16,324 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,552,000 after acquiring an additional 1,213 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in shares of Federal Realty Investment Trust by 704.1% during the 2nd 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 boosted its holdings in shares of Federal Realty Investment Trust by 75.2% during the 2nd 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 position in Federal Realty Investment Trust by 72.3% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,543 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $432,000 after purchasing an additional 1,906 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Federal Realty Investment Trust by 12.8% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,169 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $586,000 after purchasing an additional 702 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.86% of the company's stock.

Federal Realty Investment Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FRT traded down $0.60 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $99.62. 1,219,434 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 575,200. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 2.14 and a current ratio of 2.14. Federal Realty Investment Trust has a 52 week low of $80.65 and a 52 week high of $118.09. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $96.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $95.60.

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

Federal Realty Investment Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. This is an increase from Federal Realty Investment Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 1st. Federal Realty Investment Trust's dividend payout ratio is 111.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on FRT. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Federal Realty Investment Trust from $113.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 27th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Federal Realty Investment Trust from $135.00 to $120.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Federal Realty Investment Trust in a research report on Monday, May 26th. Mizuho upped their price objective on 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. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on Federal Realty Investment Trust from $118.00 to $103.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $109.31.

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.