Lafayette Investments Inc. Takes Position in Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE:FRT)

Lafayette Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE:FRT) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,150 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $222,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Federal Realty Investment Trust during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in Federal Realty Investment Trust by 57.7% in the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 421 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its position in shares of Federal Realty Investment Trust by 237.0% during the first quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 337 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the period. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its position in shares of Federal Realty Investment Trust by 20.3% during the fourth quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 574 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, ZRC Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Federal Realty Investment Trust during the fourth quarter valued at about $72,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays upped their price target on Federal Realty Investment Trust from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Federal Realty Investment Trust in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a “hold” rating and a $109.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Federal Realty Investment Trust from $118.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Federal Realty Investment Trust from $110.00 to $109.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on Federal Realty Investment Trust from $104.00 to $101.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $112.60.

Federal Realty Investment Trust Price Performance

FRT traded up $0.96 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $99.49. The stock had a trading volume of 87,718 shares, compared to its average volume of 643,645. The company has a market cap of $8.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a fifty day moving average of $100.19 and a 200 day moving average of $97.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 2.64 and a current ratio of 2.64. Federal Realty Investment Trust has a 1 year low of $85.27 and a 1 year high of $107.61.

Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE:FRT) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.64 by ($0.88). The firm had revenue of $291.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $292.05 million. Federal Realty Investment Trust had a return on equity of 8.35% and a net margin of 20.93%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.58 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Federal Realty Investment Trust will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Federal Realty Investment Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $1.09 per share. This represents a $4.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 12th. Federal Realty Investment Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 155.71%.

Federal Realty Investment Trust Profile

Federal Realty is a recognized leader in the ownership, operation and redevelopment of high-quality retail-based properties located primarily in major coastal markets from Washington, DC to Boston as well as San Francisco and Los Angeles. Founded in 1962, Federal Realty's mission is to deliver long-term, sustainable growth through investing in communities where retail demand exceeds supply.