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Federal Realty Investment Trust (FRT) Down 1.1% Since Last Earnings Report: Can It Rebound?

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A month has gone by since the last earnings report for Federal Realty Investment Trust (FRT - Free Report) . Shares have lost about 1.1% in that time frame, underperforming the S&P 500.

Will the recent negative trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Federal Realty Investment Trust due for a breakout? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at the most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important drivers.

Federal Realty Beats Q2 FFO Estimates, Hikes Dividend

Federal Realty posted second-quarter 2019 FFO per share of $1.60, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.58. The reported figure also improves from the prior-year tally of $1.55.

Results reflect rise in property operating income and cash-basis rollover growth on comparable spaces. The company also hiked its regular quarterly dividend.

Total revenues grew 2.5% year over year to $230.5 million. However, the top-line figure missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $233.8 million.

Quarter in Details

During the reported quarter, Federal Realty signed 115 leases for 382,656 square feet of retail space. On a comparable space basis, the company leased 378,756 square feet at average rent of $42.68 per square foot. This denotes cash-basis rollover growth of 7%.

As of Jun 30, 2019, the company’s overall portfolio was 94.1%, down 90 basis points (bps) year over year. As of that date, comparable property portfolio was 94.6% leased, down 110 bps from the prior-year period. In addition, POI for comparable properties jumped 3.5% for the second quarter.

Federal Realty exited second-quarter 2019 with cash and cash equivalents of approximately $105.9 million, up from $64.1 million posted at the end of 2018.

Outlook

For 2019, Federal Realty maintained its FFO per share guidance at $6.30-$6.46.

Dividend Hike

Federal Realty announced a hike in its dividend rate, increasing the quarterly cash dividend to $1.05 per share from the $1.02 paid earlier. This represents an increase of 2.9% and marks the 52nd consecutive year of common dividend hikes. The increased dividend will be paid on Oct 15, to shareholders on record as of Sep 23, 2019.

How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?

It turns out, estimates review have trended downward during the past month.

VGM Scores

Currently, Federal Realty Investment Trust has an average Growth Score of C, however its Momentum Score is doing a bit better with a B. However, the stock was allocated a grade of D on the value side, putting it in the bottom 40% for this investment strategy.

Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of D. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.

Outlook

Estimates have been broadly trending downward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions has been net zero. Notably, Federal Realty Investment Trust has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.


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