Short Interest in Four Corners Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FCPT) Rises By 31.8%

Four Corners Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FCPT) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,350,000 shares, an increase of 31.8% from the February 28th total of 4,060,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 768,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 7.0 days. Currently, 5.4% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on FCPT. Barclays cut their price target on Four Corners Property Trust from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Four Corners Property Trust from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Four Corners Property Trust in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.20.

Four Corners Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of FCPT traded down $0.34 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $28.36. The company had a trading volume of 373,899 shares, compared to its average volume of 587,480. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. The company has a market capitalization of $2.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.50 and a beta of 1.16. Four Corners Property Trust has a twelve month low of $22.38 and a twelve month high of $30.93. The company’s 50-day moving average is $28.15 and its 200-day moving average is $28.35.

Four Corners Property Trust (NYSE:FCPT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.16. Four Corners Property Trust had a return on equity of 7.54% and a net margin of 37.48%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Four Corners Property Trust will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Four Corners Property Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.355 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.42 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.01%. Four Corners Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 132.71%.

Institutional Trading of Four Corners Property Trust

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new stake in Four Corners Property Trust during the 4th quarter valued at $38,512,000. Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Four Corners Property Trust in the third quarter valued at $24,863,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Four Corners Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at $18,084,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Four Corners Property Trust by 539.6% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 687,318 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,145,000 after buying an additional 579,849 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Four Corners Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $12,845,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.66% of the company’s stock.

Four Corners Property Trust Company Profile

Four Corners Property Trust, Inc engages in the owning, acquisition, and leasing of properties for use in the restaurant and food-service related industries. It operates through the Real Estate Operations and Restaurant Operations segments. The Real Estate Operations segment consists of rental revenues generated by leasing restaurant properties.