Short Interest in First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FR) Rises By 23.1%

First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FR - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,920,000 shares, a growth of 23.1% from the February 28th total of 1,560,000 shares. Currently, 1.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,180,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.6 days.

First Industrial Realty Trust Trading Down 4.6 %

First Industrial Realty Trust stock traded down $2.31 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $47.72. The stock had a trading volume of 2,146,774 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,086,625. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $6.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.89 and a beta of 1.07. First Industrial Realty Trust has a 52-week low of $45.10 and a 52-week high of $58.17. The company has a fifty day moving average of $54.93 and a 200 day moving average of $53.58.

First Industrial Realty Trust (NYSE:FR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.36. First Industrial Realty Trust had a return on equity of 10.64% and a net margin of 42.94%. On average, analysts anticipate that First Industrial Realty Trust will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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First Industrial Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.445 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from First Industrial Realty Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.73%. First Industrial Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of First Industrial Realty Trust in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a "hold" rating and a $52.00 price objective for the company. KeyCorp raised First Industrial Realty Trust from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays reissued a "cautious" rating on shares of First Industrial Realty Trust in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of First Industrial Realty Trust from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $52.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Friday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Industrial Realty Trust has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $58.38.

Institutional Trading of First Industrial Realty Trust

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of First Industrial Realty Trust by 92.5% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,001 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 481 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in First Industrial Realty Trust by 24.7% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,081 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in First Industrial Realty Trust by 200.8% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,119 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 747 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of First Industrial Realty Trust by 30.7% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,243 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of First Industrial Realty Trust by 73.2% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,360 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 575 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.85% of the company's stock.

First Industrial Realty Trust Company Profile

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.