First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FR) Plans Dividend Increase – $0.45 Per Share

First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FR) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 5th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of 0.445 per share by the real estate investment trust on Monday, April 21st. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a 20.3% increase from First Industrial Realty Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37.

First Industrial Realty Trust has raised its dividend payment by an average of 11.1% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 12 consecutive years. First Industrial Realty Trust has a dividend payout ratio of 97.8% indicating that its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings fall. Analysts expect First Industrial Realty Trust to earn $3.10 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.78 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 57.4%.

First Industrial Realty Trust Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE FR opened at $53.60 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.10 billion, a PE ratio of 24.59 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $54.99 and its 200-day moving average is $53.74. First Industrial Realty Trust has a 1 year low of $45.10 and a 1 year high of $58.17.

First Industrial Realty Trust (NYSE:FR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.36. First Industrial Realty Trust had a net margin of 42.94% and a return on equity of 10.64%. Equities analysts expect that First Industrial Realty Trust will post 2.89 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on First Industrial Realty Trust in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $52.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of First Industrial Realty Trust from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of First Industrial Realty Trust from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of First Industrial Realty Trust from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $52.00 to $59.00 in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Barclays reissued a “cautious” rating on shares of First Industrial Realty Trust in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Industrial Realty Trust has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $58.38.

About First Industrial Realty Trust

First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc (NYSE: FR) is a leading U.S.-only owner, operator, developer and acquirer of logistics properties. Through our fully integrated operating and investing platform, we provide high quality facilities and industry-leading customer service to multinational corporations and regional firms that are essential for their supply chains.