The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 extended their gains Friday, March 9, after the latest U.S. nonfarm payroll employment report showed stronger-than-expected jobs growth in February. Real estate investment trusts also closed slightly higher.
VICI Properties Inc. posted funds from operations attributable to common shareholders of 19 cents per share for the fourth quarter of 2017, marking the experiential-asset REIT's first quarterly results since it was established in October 2017.
Citing lower financial risk and other factors, S&P Global Ratings upgraded the recently IPO'd company's ratings, including its corporate credit rating, to BB from BB-, with a stable outlook.
VICI Properties shares climbed 1.61% to close at $19.60.
American Tower Corp. increased its quarterly cash distribution to 75 cents per common share from 70 cents apiece. The primarily wireless-telecom-focused REIT will pay out the dividend April 27.
American Tower shares rose 0.59% to close at $143.58.
Digital Realty Trust Inc. amended the company's charter to allow shareholders to make changes to the data center REIT's bylaws, provided the proposed change is approved by an affirmative majority vote.
Shares of Digital Realty fell 0.56%, closing at $103.14.
Lodging REIT Host Hotels & Resorts Inc. is calling on its operating partnership's unit holders to reject an unsolicited mini-tender offer from certain MacKenzie Capital Management LP affiliates. The company argued, among other things, that the $16.30-per-unit offer price reflects a discount to the company's March 7 common stock price.
Host Hotels shares increased 1.61% to close at $18.91.
Slate Office REIT received the go-ahead from unit holders for its C$191.4 million purchase of a seven-asset office portfolio in Canada, with the transaction expected to close by the end of March.
Slate Office shares dropped 0.38%, ending the day at C$7.79.

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The Week in US Real Estate: 2 healthcare REIT tenants file for bankruptcy; Spirit's spinoff plan on track: The March 9 weekly news roundup in the North American real estate space also features a dividend suspension, an IPO halt, a newly minted public company's first quarterly earnings and more updates on the property front.
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This S&P Global Market Intelligence news article may contain information about credit ratings issued by S&P Global Ratings, a separately managed division of S&P Global. Descriptions in this news article were not prepared by S&P Global Ratings. The original S&P Global Ratings documents referred to in this news brief can be found here.
