Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 91,436 Shares of First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FR) by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,413,460 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 91,436 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in First Industrial Realty Trust were worth $70,857,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in First Industrial Realty Trust by 201.9% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 951 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 636 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Industrial Realty Trust by 77.4% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 956 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 417 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of First Industrial Realty Trust by 92.5% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,001 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in 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 valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in First Industrial Realty Trust by 188.7% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,484 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 970 shares in the last quarter. 99.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of First Industrial Realty Trust from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of First Industrial Realty Trust in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $52.00 price target on the stock. KeyCorp raised shares of First Industrial Realty Trust from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on First Industrial Realty Trust from $56.00 to $55.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Industrial Realty Trust presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $57.77.

First Industrial Realty Trust Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of FR stock opened at $55.63 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $7.36 billion, a PE ratio of 25.52 and a beta of 1.09. First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $45.10 and a 1 year high of $57.35. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $52.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $53.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

First Industrial Realty Trust (NYSE:FR) last released 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 return on equity of 10.64% and a net margin of 42.94%. Research analysts predict that First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

First Industrial Realty Trust Increases Dividend

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

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.