Federal Realty Investment Trust (FRT) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $1.09 on October 16th

Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE:FRT) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, August 2nd, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 22nd will be given a dividend of 1.09 per share by the real estate investment trust on Monday, October 16th. This represents a $4.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.51%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 21st. This is a boost from Federal Realty Investment Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08.

Federal Realty Investment Trust has raised its dividend payment by an average of 1.3% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 56 consecutive years. Federal Realty Investment Trust has a dividend payout ratio of 160.3% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Equities research analysts expect Federal Realty Investment Trust to earn $6.76 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.36 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 64.5%.

Federal Realty Investment Trust Stock Down 2.2 %

FRT stock opened at $96.69 on Tuesday. Federal Realty Investment Trust has a fifty-two week low of $85.27 and a fifty-two week high of $115.08. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $99.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $96.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 1.62. The company has a market capitalization of $7.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.22.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on FRT. StockNews.com began coverage on Federal Realty Investment Trust in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Mizuho cut Federal Realty Investment Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $101.00 in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Federal Realty Investment Trust from $93.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 11th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Federal Realty Investment Trust from $125.00 to $124.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 22nd. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Federal Realty Investment Trust from $127.00 to $119.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 21st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Federal Realty Investment Trust presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $112.17.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Federal Realty Investment Trust

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FRT. Vanguard Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Federal Realty Investment Trust in the 1st quarter worth $1,481,079,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Federal Realty Investment Trust in the 4th quarter worth $728,764,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Federal Realty Investment Trust by 62.6% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,330,651 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $162,432,000 after buying an additional 512,382 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Federal Realty Investment Trust by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,816,925 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $962,292,000 after buying an additional 351,320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Federal Realty Investment Trust by 113.4% in the 2nd quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 468,254 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $44,831,000 after buying an additional 248,778 shares in the last quarter. 87.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.