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Innovative Industrial (IIPR) Boosts Portfolio With $33M Buyouts

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Innovative Industrial Properties (IIPR - Free Report) recently announced shelling $33 million in total for the acquisition of a property in Georgetown, MA, and a property in Olympia, WA, in a bid to grow its portfolio and bank on the healthy market fundamentals. The properties, comprising 181,000-square-foot industrial space in total, now expand the company’s footprint to 66 properties, with 5.4 million rentable square feet across 17 states.

The real estate investment trust (REIT), focused on a cannabis-centered real estate portfolio, has also entered into a long-term, triple-net lease agreement for each property with a subsidiary of 4Front Ventures Corp. It plans to continue operating the Massachusetts property as a regulated cannabis cultivation, processing and dispensing facility, as well as sublease the Washington asset to a cannabis license holder for sustained usage as a cannabis cultivation and processing facility.

The partnership with 4Front seems a strategic fit as it is a national multi-state cannabis operator and retailer, enjoying market advantage in mass-produced, low-cost quality branded cannabis products.

Moreover, the expansion of footprint in Massachusetts makes sense because so far in the current year, adult-use cannabis sales have exceeded $630 million and $1 billion in the two years since the first sales. In addition, according to BDS Analytics, by 2025, annual total regulated cannabis sales are expected to reach $1.5 billion.

Further, the property buyout in Washington offers scope for growth to Innovative Industrial. In fact, in 2019, regulated adult-use sales of cannabis topped $1 billion, according to BDS Analytics, and are projected to reach roughly $1.3 billion by 2025.

The legalization of marijuana’s medical use across several states, as well as the permission of recreational consumption in some, has opened up opportunities for the cannabis industry. Thus, with more states in the United States giving cannabis the green light, Innovative Industrial Properties has incentives to partner with experienced medical-use cannabis operators and serve as a vital source of capital by acquiring and leasing back their real-estate assets. Its strategy is to acquire the existing, redeveloped and under-development industrial buildings, including the attached enclosed greenhouse facilities.

Innovative Industrial Properties currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Over the past three months, shares of the company have outperformed the industry. The stock has rallied 53.1%, outperforming its industry’s gain of 7%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.


Stocks to Consider

CubeSmart’s (CUBE - Free Report) Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2020 funds from operations (FFO) per share has moved up 0.6% to $1.65 over the past month. The company currently carries a Zacks Rank of 2.

Rexford Industrial Realty, Inc. (REXR - Free Report) FFO per share estimate for the current year has been revised upward by 1.6% to $1.30 over the past two months. The company carries a Zacks Rank of 2, currently.

City Office REIT, Inc.’s (CIO - Free Report) Zacks Consensus Estimate for the ongoing-year FFO per share has moved 5.3% north to $1.20 in two months’ time. The company holds a Zacks Rank of 2 at present.

Note: Anything related to earnings presented in this write-up represent funds from operations (FFO) — a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs.

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