Real estate investment trusts and the broader markets posted gains Friday, June 1, as data from the U.S. Department of Labor showed that the country added more jobs than expected in May.
Student housing REIT Education Realty Trust Inc. is in talks with private equity firms for a potential going-private deal, as it explores a possible sale, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Education Realty shares surged 3.83% to close the day at $37.94.
Single-tenant net-lease REIT Spirit Realty Capital Inc. wrapped up the spinoff of Spirit MTA REIT into a separate and independent publicly traded REIT that will commence trading on the NYSE on June 1 under the ticker SMTA.
Shares of Spirit Realty slumped 12.79%, closing at $7.64.
A subsidiary of wireless communications operator and REIT American Tower Corp. completed its acquisition of roughly 9,900 stand-alone towers from India's Idea Cellular Ltd. for an enterprise value of approximately $590 million.
American Tower shares rose 0.11% to close at $138.52.
Seniors housing REIT New Senior Investment Group maintained its first-quarter cash dividend at 26 cents per share, saying the company's ongoing review of strategic alternatives is an important factor in the board's decision to maintain the dividend.
New Senior Investment shares rose 2.67% to close at $7.68.
Robert W. Baird & Co. analyst Michael Bellisario initiated coverage on Xenia Hotels & Resorts Inc. with an "outperform" rating and a per-share price target of $27, saying the company should continue to see more interest from investors for its differentiated portfolio, especially in light of improving sentiment toward full-service hotel REITs.
The analyst also expects that the company's large group exposure, favorable geographic footprint and substantial renovation tailwinds will help it outperform peers in the near-to-intermediate term.
Xenia Hotels shares closed 1.23% higher at $25.48.

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The Week in US Real Estate: Wyndham, CorePoint complete spinoffs; Cushman & Wakefield could plan IPO: The June 1 weekly news roundup in the North American real estate space also features activist investor Jonathan Litt's election to Taubman's board and Kayne Anderson raising $1.8 billion for its latest opportunistic equity fund.
In big hotel deals, Blackstone is a buyer and a seller: The private equity giant agreed to purchase LaSalle Hotel Properties, a real estate investment trust, around the same time it exited a long-term investment in Hilton Worldwide Holdings, a brand company.
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