First Industrial Realty Trust (NYSE:FR) Reaches New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FR) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $59.48 and last traded at $59.2640, with a volume of 31888 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $59.21.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on FR shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on First Industrial Realty Trust from $53.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Scotiabank increased their target price on First Industrial Realty Trust from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group set a $62.00 price target on First Industrial Realty Trust in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $67.00 price objective on shares of First Industrial Realty Trust in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Barclays restated a “positive” rating and issued a $64.00 target price on shares of First Industrial Realty Trust in a report on Tuesday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.69.

First Industrial Realty Trust Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market cap of $7.83 billion, a PE ratio of 33.02 and a beta of 1.14. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $57.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.42.

First Industrial Realty Trust (NYSE:FR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.02. First Industrial Realty Trust had a return on equity of 8.65% and a net margin of 33.18%.The firm had revenue of $181.43 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $182.63 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.69 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Industrial Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.445 per share. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. First Industrial Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 99.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CIO Johannson L. Yap sold 680 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.37, for a total value of $39,691.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive owned 3,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $220,054.90. This represents a 15.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FR. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new stake in First Industrial Realty Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in shares of First Industrial Realty Trust during the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in First Industrial Realty Trust in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $40,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. bought a new position in First Industrial Realty Trust in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in First Industrial Realty Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.85% of the company’s stock.

First Industrial Realty Trust Company Profile

First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc (NYSE: FR) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust focused on the ownership, operation and development of industrial real estate assets. The company specializes in light industrial, warehouse and distribution facilities that serve a broad range of end markets, including manufacturing, transportation and e-commerce. Through both acquisitions and ground-up developments, First Industrial seeks to assemble a diversified portfolio of strategically located properties that support its tenants’ supply-chain needs.

Core services provided by First Industrial include property leasing, asset management, redevelopment of obsolescent buildings and build-to-suit development for creditworthy users.