Short Interest in Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE:FRT) Grows By 13.5%

Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE:FRT) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,850,000 shares, a growth of 13.5% from the October 15th total of 1,630,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 685,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.7 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Donald C. Wood sold 5,937 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.47, for a total value of $691,482.39. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Federal Realty Investment Trust

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Federal Realty Investment Trust during the third quarter worth $202,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Federal Realty Investment Trust by 0.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,956,097 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $224,565,000 after acquiring an additional 7,160 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in Federal Realty Investment Trust by 1.5% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 9,771 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,123,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Federal Realty Investment Trust by 3.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 132,497 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $15,232,000 after acquiring an additional 4,324 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Federal Realty Investment Trust by 0.9% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 426,281 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $49,010,000 after acquiring an additional 3,995 shares during the period. 93.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on FRT shares. Citigroup upgraded Federal Realty Investment Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $120.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Compass Point upped their target price on Federal Realty Investment Trust from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Scotiabank cut their target price on Federal Realty Investment Trust from $120.00 to $119.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Federal Realty Investment Trust from $121.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Raymond James upped their target price on Federal Realty Investment Trust from $108.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.85.

Federal Realty Investment Trust Stock Down 1.6 %

Federal Realty Investment Trust stock traded down $1.86 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $111.68. The stock had a trading volume of 109,601 shares, compared to its average volume of 629,011. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.26 billion, a PE ratio of 33.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.56. Federal Realty Investment Trust has a fifty-two week low of $90.84 and a fifty-two week high of $118.34. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $113.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $108.67.

Federal Realty Investment Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.94%. Federal Realty Investment Trust’s payout ratio is 127.91%.

Federal Realty Investment Trust Company Profile

Federal Realty is a recognized leader in the ownership, operation and redevelopment of high-quality retail-based properties located primarily in major coastal markets from Washington, DC to Boston as well as San Francisco and Los Angeles. Founded in 1962, Federal Realty's mission is to deliver long-term, sustainable growth through investing in communities where retail demand exceeds supply.