First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FR) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FR) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,580,000 shares, an increase of 14.5% from the September 30th total of 1,380,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,200,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.3 days.

First Industrial Realty Trust Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE FR traded down $0.21 on Thursday, hitting $53.19. 67,215 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,100,117. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $55.44 and a 200 day moving average of $51.36. First Industrial Realty Trust has a twelve month low of $41.68 and a twelve month high of $57.35. The company has a market capitalization of $7.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.60 and a beta of 1.08.

First Industrial Realty Trust (NYSE:FR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $167.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.01 million. First Industrial Realty Trust had a return on equity of 11.53% and a net margin of 47.34%. First Industrial Realty Trust’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.62 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that First Industrial Realty Trust will post 2.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on FR. Barclays increased their target price on shares of First Industrial Realty Trust from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on First Industrial Realty Trust from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Truist Financial raised their price target on First Industrial Realty Trust from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of First Industrial Realty Trust from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of First Industrial Realty Trust from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, First Industrial Realty Trust currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.92.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FR. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in First Industrial Realty Trust by 0.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,190,794 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,008,284,000 after purchasing an additional 77,270 shares in the last quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of First Industrial Realty Trust by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 4,932,306 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $259,143,000 after purchasing an additional 380,805 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First Industrial Realty Trust by 7.3% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,177,761 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $103,465,000 after buying an additional 148,996 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in First Industrial Realty Trust by 6.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,023,449 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $96,133,000 after buying an additional 118,239 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in First Industrial Realty Trust by 0.9% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,321,315 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $62,776,000 after acquiring an additional 11,522 shares during the period. 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.