Vanguard Group Inc. Buys 304,589 Shares of First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FR)

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FR) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 19,190,885 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 304,589 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.15% of First Industrial Realty Trust worth $962,039,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rush Island Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of First Industrial Realty Trust in the third quarter worth $60,848,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in First Industrial Realty Trust by 28.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,354,728 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $187,798,000 after purchasing an additional 747,101 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in First Industrial Realty Trust by 290.6% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 895,046 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $50,105,000 after purchasing an additional 665,920 shares in the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP purchased a new position in First Industrial Realty Trust in the third quarter worth about $18,649,000. Finally, NFJ Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in First Industrial Realty Trust in the third quarter worth about $7,778,000. Institutional investors own 99.85% of the company’s stock.

First Industrial Realty Trust Stock Performance

FR opened at $53.60 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $54.99 and its 200 day moving average is $53.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $7.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.59 and a beta of 1.07. First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $45.10 and a 12-month high of $58.17.

First Industrial Realty Trust (NYSE:FR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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, equities research analysts predict that First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current year.

First Industrial Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.445 per share. This represents a $1.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from First Industrial Realty Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. First Industrial Realty Trust’s payout ratio is currently 81.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of First Industrial Realty Trust in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $52.00 price target on the stock. KeyCorp raised First Industrial Realty Trust from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on First Industrial Realty Trust from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays reiterated a “cautious” rating on shares of First Industrial Realty Trust in a report on Tuesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of First Industrial Realty Trust from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $52.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Industrial Realty Trust has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $58.38.

First Industrial Realty Trust Profile

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.