First Industrial Realty Trust (NYSE:FR) Reaches New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FR)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $57.39 and last traded at $57.22, with a volume of 89283 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $56.82.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on FR. Barclays decreased their price target on First Industrial Realty Trust from $56.00 to $55.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 18th. KeyCorp upgraded First Industrial Realty Trust from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded First Industrial Realty Trust from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $52.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on First Industrial Realty Trust in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $52.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on First Industrial Realty Trust from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Industrial Realty Trust currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.31.

First Industrial Realty Trust Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $7.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.18 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $52.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $53.77.

First Industrial Realty Trust (NYSE:FR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 forecast that First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

First Industrial Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.445 per share. This is an increase from First Industrial Realty Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.12%. First Industrial Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.65%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Industrial Realty Trust

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in First Industrial Realty Trust by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 4,089 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $205,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of First Industrial Realty Trust by 24.7% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,081 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of First Industrial Realty Trust by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 26,121 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,309,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of First Industrial Realty Trust by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 3,151 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $158,000 after buying an additional 269 shares during the period. Finally, Fortem Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Industrial Realty Trust by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC now owns 10,318 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $517,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.