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REIT Replay: Markets bounce back after shaky trading week

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 moved slightly higher Friday, March 16, after a bumpy week caused by investor uncertainty about the Trump administration's changes to trade policy and personnel. Real estate investment trusts also gained traction Friday, March 16.

HCP Inc., which recently retained Brookfield Financial as an adviser to help it review its options, sold a mezzanine loan secured by interests in Tandem Health Care LLC. Alternative asset manager Fundamental Advisors LP acquired the loan for $112 million.

Separately, the healthcare REIT said independent director James Hoffmann will not seek re-election at the company's April 26 annual shareholder meeting.

HCP shares rose 1.05% to close at $23.19.

Shopping center REITs Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust Inc. and Slate Retail REIT amended their lease agreements with anchor tenants Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. and BI-LO LLC after Southeastern Grocers LLC, the grocery operators' parent, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Wheeler REIT shares soared 6.42% to close at $3.48, while Slate Retail shares dropped 0.80% to close at C$12.43.

Kite Realty Group Trust sold a pair of shopping centers in Alabama and North Carolina during the first quarter, for gross proceeds of $63 million. The shopping center REIT said it used the proceeds to pay down its unsecured revolving line of credit.

Kite Realty shares ticked down 0.13% to close at $15.16.

BMO Capital Markets analyst John Kim on March 16 launched coverage of Vornado Realty Trust with an "outperform" rating and a per-share target price of $85. Kim said he thinks Vornado has a robust office and retail platform in New York City and that any headwinds are likely already more than priced into the company's stock.

The analyst also views the REIT as a cash-flow machine with the potential to generate $3.6 billion of cash proceeds through 2020 that it will use opportunistically, a catalyst that he said is not fully reflected in the company's earnings.

Vornado shares gained 1.30% to end the day at $69.51.

A team of Janney Montgomery Scott LLC analysts downgraded Farmland Partners Inc. to "neutral," with a fair value estimate of $9 per share. The analysts said in a March 16 note that the Trump administration's recently enacted tariffs on aluminum and steel imports could hurt agricultural products, which should pose near-term risks on the farmland REIT's stock at least at the headline level. The stock is also closing to within 5% of the team's fair value estimate, and the analysts posited that they see less room for earnings growth and acquisitions now than at any time since the company went public in 2014.

Farmland Partners shares closed flat at $8.44.

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Data Dispatch: Retail REITs slip on Toys R Us planned liquidation: Already steeply discounted shopping center landlords traded down after the debt-laden specialty toy retailer said it would close all of its 735 U.S. stores. A pair of analysts said a Toys liquidation is likely already priced into companies' guidance.

Data Dispatch: 46 North American real estate companies increase their dividends through Mar. 1: Invitation Homes Inc. raised its quarterly dividend by the largest relative amount during the period, with a 37.5% increase.

The Week in US Real Estate: Blackstone buys in bulk; HNA goes on selling spree: The March 16 weekly news roundup in the North American real estate space also features Industrial Property Trust reportedly exploring strategic alternatives and more updates on the dividend, M&A and property investment fronts.

Market prices and index values are current as of the time of publication and are subject to change.