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Why Is Federal Realty Investment Trust (FRT) Up 29.1% Since Last Earnings Report?

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It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Federal Realty Investment Trust (FRT - Free Report) . Shares have added about 29.1% in that time frame, outperforming the S&P 500.

Will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Federal Realty Investment Trust due for a pullback? 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 Q3 FFO and Revenues Surpass Estimates

Federal Realty’s third-quarter 2020 FFO per share of $1.12 surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.10. Moreover, quarterly revenues of $208.2 million topped the consensus mark of $206.3 million.

According to Donald C. Wood, the company’s president and chief executive officer, "Progress in many respects was the theme of the third quarter." He also noted about "improving rent collections” as well as “leasing volumes at pre-COVID levels”.

However, the reported FFO per share decreased from the $1.43 reported in the year-ago quarter. In addition, revenues fell 11% year on year. The pandemic’s adverse impact and the resultant collectability related adjustment issues caused this year-over-year declines.

Nevertheless, the situation has now improved from the beginning of the pandemic, and the company noted that though all 104 of its properties are open and operational, roughly 97% of retail tenants based on annualized base rent are open and operational as of Oct 30. It has also collected about 85% of the third quarter and 85% of October billed recurring rents as of that date.

Quarter in Details

During the reported quarter, Federal Realty signed 101 leases for 481,105 square feet of retail space. On a comparable space basis, the company leased 471,726 square feet at an average rent of $37.38 per square foot. This denotes cash-basis rollover growth of a negative 1%. Also, the company signed 13 leases for 63,609 square feet of office space during the third quarter.

As of Sep 30, 2020, the REIT’s overall portfolio was 92.2% leased. As of the same date, the comparable property portfolio was 92% leased.

Balance Sheet

Federal Realty exited third-quarter 2020 with cash and cash equivalents of $863.3 million, up from the $127.4 million recorded at the end of 2019. Along with undrawn availability under its $1-billion revolving credit facility, the company’s liquidity amounted to $1.9 billion. Following the quarter end, the company also issued $400 million of green bonds.

How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?

It turns out, estimates review flatlined during the past month.

VGM Scores

At this time, Federal Realty Investment Trust has a poor Growth Score of F, however its Momentum Score is doing a lot better with a C. Charting a somewhat similar path, 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 F. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.

Outlook

Federal Realty Investment Trust has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). We expect a below average return from the stock in the next few months.


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