First Industrial Realty Trust (NYSE:FR) Upgraded to “Neutral” at The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of First Industrial Realty Trust (NYSE:FR) from a sell rating to a neutral rating in a research report report published on Friday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $59.00 price objective on the real estate investment trust’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $52.00.

FR has been the subject of a number of other reports. Barclays cut their target price 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on First Industrial Realty Trust in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $52.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of First Industrial Realty Trust from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded shares of First Industrial Realty Trust from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.31.

First Industrial Realty Trust Stock Performance

NYSE:FR opened at $55.69 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $7.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.55 and a beta of 1.09. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $52.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.63. First Industrial Realty Trust has a 1-year low of $45.10 and a 1-year high of $57.35.

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

First Industrial Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.445 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. This is a positive change from First Industrial Realty Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. First Industrial Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.89%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Industrial Realty Trust

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of First Industrial Realty Trust by 5.4% during 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 acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of First Industrial Realty Trust by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 26,121 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,309,000 after buying an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of First Industrial Realty Trust by 9.3% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Finally, Fortem Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Industrial Realty Trust by 2.9% during the fourth 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.

About First Industrial Realty Trust

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.