Equity One Acquires Shopping Center

Equity One Inc. (EQY - Snapshot Report), a real estate investment trust (REIT), recently announced that it has acquired a shopping center, namely Culver Center for $115 million.

Culver Center is a 216,578 square foot community shopping center encompassing 9.7 acres of area and is leased and anchored by some of the best-known tenants. The center is currently 99.0% occupied. The property is located in western Los Angeles County at the intersection of Venice Boulevard, Washington Boulevard and Overland Avenue.

This acquisition is a valuable addition to Equity One's portfolio. The property is expected to be accretive for the company given the benefits and future potential arising from its favorable location in a densely populated area with high average household income and limited supply of services.  Moreover, the property has been acquired at a rate much lower than the existing market levels. This provides Equity One a solid platform for near-term NOI growth and future redevelopments.

Equity One owns, manages and develops community shopping centers in the United States. As of September 30, 2011, Equity One owned or had interests in 199 properties, consisting of 176 shopping centers comprising approximately 20.7 million square feet.

Additionally, Equity One had joint venture interests in 16 shopping centers and 2 office buildings totaling approximately 2.7 million square feet.

Equity One currently retains a Zacks #5 Rank, which translates into a short-term Strong Sell rating. We are also maintaining our long-term Underperform recommendation on the stock. One of its competitors, Regency Centers Corporation (REG - Analyst Report) has a Zacks #3 Rank, which translates into a short-term Hold rating.

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