Franklin Street Properties Corp. (AMEX:FSP) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Investment Research

Zacks Investment Research cut shares of Franklin Street Properties Corp. (AMEX:FSP) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, August 4th.

According to Zacks, “Franklin Street Properties Corp., a real estate investment trust, is focused on investing in institutional-quality office properties in major U.S. markets. FSP’s strategy is to invest in select urban infill and central business district (CBD) properties, with primary emphasis on their top five markets of Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, Houston, and Minneapolis. FSP seeks value-oriented investments with an eye towards long-term growth and appreciation, as well as current income. FSP’s primary real estate operations include property acquisitions and dispositions, leasing, development and asset management. FSP has also been a cyclical investor in San Diego, Silicon Valley, Greater Boston, Raleigh-Durham, and Greater Washington, DC, and will continue to monitor these markets, as well as other markets, for opportunistic investments. “

FSP has been the topic of a number of other reports. ValuEngine lowered shares of Franklin Street Properties Corp. from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Saturday, June 10th. FBR & Co restated an outperform rating and issued a $13.00 price target on shares of Franklin Street Properties Corp. in a research report on Tuesday, July 11th. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of Franklin Street Properties Corp. from an outperform rating to a neutral rating and reduced their price target for the company from $14.00 to $12.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 4th. Finally, BidaskClub lowered shares of Franklin Street Properties Corp. from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Thursday, June 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. The stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $13.00.

Shares of Franklin Street Properties Corp. (AMEX FSP) opened at 10.26 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $10.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.56. Franklin Street Properties Corp. has a 52 week low of $9.88 and a 52 week high of $13.27.

Franklin Street Properties Corp. (AMEX:FSP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $68.37 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $67.75 million. Franklin Street Properties Corp. had a negative net margin of 25.44% and a negative return on equity of 7.52%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.27 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Franklin Street Properties Corp. will post $0.10 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 21st were paid a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.41%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 19th. Franklin Street Properties Corp.’s payout ratio is presently 330.43%.

In other news, Director Georgia Murray bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $11.20 per share, with a total value of $56,000.00. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders acquired 15,230 shares of company stock valued at $165,572 in the last ninety days.

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. bought a new stake in shares of Franklin Street Properties Corp. during the first quarter valued at about $153,000. Virginia Retirement Systems ET AL boosted its position in shares of Franklin Street Properties Corp. by 80.9% in the first quarter. Virginia Retirement Systems ET AL now owns 231,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,804,000 after buying an additional 103,300 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Franklin Street Properties Corp. by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,296,739 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $16,805,000 after buying an additional 69,167 shares during the last quarter. Breton Hill Capital Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Franklin Street Properties Corp. by 3.8% in the first quarter. Breton Hill Capital Ltd. now owns 27,817 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $338,000 after buying an additional 1,027 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Karp Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Franklin Street Properties Corp. during the first quarter valued at approximately $459,000.

Franklin Street Properties Corp. Company Profile

Franklin Street Properties Corp. is a real estate investment trust (REIT). The Company is focused on commercial real estate investments primarily in office markets. The Company operates through the real estate operations segment. The Company’s investment objectives are to create shareholder value by increasing revenue from rental, dividend, interest and fee income and net gains from sales of properties, and increase the cash available for distribution in the form of dividends to its stockholders.

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