Four Corners Property Trust (NYSE:FCPT) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Shares of Four Corners Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FCPT) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 339,746 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 33% from the previous session’s volume of 508,806 shares.The stock last traded at $28.30 and had previously closed at $27.93.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FCPT. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Four Corners Property Trust from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Four Corners Property Trust in a research report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating and a $33.00 target price on the stock. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Four Corners Property Trust in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Raymond James lifted their price target on Four Corners Property Trust from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $32.00 target price (up from $28.00) on shares of Four Corners Property Trust in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.50.

Four Corners Property Trust Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $2.70 billion, a PE ratio of 26.07 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $28.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Four Corners Property Trust (NYSE:FCPT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $66.79 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.50 million. Four Corners Property Trust had a return on equity of 7.68% and a net margin of 37.27%. The business’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.42 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Four Corners Property Trust, Inc. will post 1.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Four Corners Property Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.355 dividend. This is an increase from Four Corners Property Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Four Corners Property Trust’s payout ratio is currently 132.71%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Four Corners Property Trust by 30.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 13,930,746 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $408,310,000 after purchasing an additional 3,268,064 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Four Corners Property Trust by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,635,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $260,246,000 after purchasing an additional 116,453 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its stake in Four Corners Property Trust by 31.3% in the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,188,779 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $78,667,000 after purchasing an additional 759,749 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its stake in Four Corners Property Trust by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 2,619,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $64,089,000 after purchasing an additional 93,552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Four Corners Property Trust by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,774,103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,996,000 after purchasing an additional 102,662 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.66% of the company’s stock.

About Four Corners Property Trust

FCPT, headquartered in Mill Valley, CA, is a real estate investment trust primarily engaged in the ownership, acquisition and leasing of restaurant and retail properties. The Company seeks to grow its portfolio by acquiring additional real estate to lease, on a net basis, for use in the restaurant and retail industries.