First Industrial Realty rallies after upgrade by Banc of America

Mon. August 11, 2008; Posted: 10:57 AM

NEW YORK, Aug 11, 2008 (Thomson Financial via COMTEX) -- FR | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- Shares of First Industrial Realty Trust rallied Monday, after Banc of America upgraded the real estate investment trust on the belief that downside risks have already been priced in.

The stock tacked on 4.6% to $23.85, but was still down 18% over the past 2 months. Last Thursday, the shares hit a 10-year low of $21.76 in intraday trading.

BofA Analyst Mitchell Germain raised his rating to neutral from sell, while keeping his 12-month stock price target at $23.

Germain said that while the stock remains his "least favorite" in the industrial sector, he believes shares now more accurately reflect fair value, and that the recent pullback "has priced in the downside risk to core fundamentals and earnings."

Germain also said the stock's dividend yield was "attractive," and that a dividend cut is "unlikely" given the company's healthy balance sheet. With an annual dividend of $2.88 a share, the yield at current prices is 12.1%. Tomi Kilgore tk1

Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2007. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News.

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For full details on First Industrial Realty Trust Inc. (FR) click here. First Industrial Realty Trust Inc. (FR) has Short Term PowerRatings of 4. Details on First Industrial Realty Trust Inc. (FR) Short Term PowerRatings is available at This Link.

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