First Industrial shares plunge on guidance cut

First Industrial shares dropped $7.38, or 26.8 percent, to $20.15. Earlier, shares bottomed at $18.22, their lowest price since May 1995. The stock had traded between $21.76 and $42.71 over the past year.

Early Friday, the company said it now expects to report significantly lower funds from operations, or FFO, and earnings per share in 2008. First Industrial also issued 2009 guidance at levels well below analysts' consensus estimates.

FFO, a measure the real estate industry uses to gauge operating performance, adds depreciation and amortization expenses, as well as other nonoperating items, back to net income.

President and Chief Executive Mike Brennan said the deteriorating capital markets and broader economic uncertainty have hurt the company's asset sales and related gains.

Janney Montgomery Scott analyst Stephanie Krewson lowered the stock's rating from "Neutral," due in part to uncertainty about the company's dividend following the announcement.