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Gladstone Land (LAND) Strengthens Base in Oregon With Buyout

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Gladstone Land Corporation (LAND - Free Report) recently acquired 165 gross acres of farmland near Milton-Freewater in Oregon for $2.4 million. With this, LAND entered into a 10-year, triple-net lease agreement with a leading tenant in the wine industry.

However, shares of Gladstone have been revised marginally downward to $28.57 since the announcement, reflecting broader market concerns.

The property located in a setting of land overlooking the Walla Walla Valley will be used by the tenant to plant a vineyard. The acquisition seems a strategic fit as the acquired land is established with water rights.

This buyout will strengthen Gladstone’s existing foothold in Oregon. Previously, in August, LAND had acquired $42.3 million of farmland, blueberry plantings and improvements in Kern County in California plus Yamhill County in Oregon.

Additionally, last month, Gladstone acquired nearly 230 gross acres of farmland comprising 175 acres of blueberry bushes, and a fresh packing and shipping facility in Homerville, GA, for $2.9 million. This marked LAND’s first acquisition in Georgia. As part of the purchase, LAND entered into a 15-year lease agreement with a regional farmer.

Gladstone is well poised to grow with more than$190 million of new acquisitions this year. During the third quarter, LAND acquired five new farms covering 1,516 acres in California, Florida and Oregon, and another 5,000 acre-feet of banked water for $62.3 million.

Shares of this currently Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) LAND have appreciated 19.8% year to date compared with the industry’s growth of 4.3%.

Zacks Investment ResearchImage Source: Zacks Investment Research

Key Picks

Some better-ranked stocks from the REIT sector are OUTFRONT Media (OUT - Free Report) , Cedar Realty Trust and Apple Hospitality REIT (APLE - Free Report) .

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for OUTFRONT Media’s 2021 funds from operations (FFO) per share has been raised 13.8% over the past month. OUT flaunts a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), currently. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Over the last four quarters, OUTFRONT Media’s FFO per share surpassed the consensus estimate thrice and reported in-line results once, the average surprise being 44.87%. Shares of OUT have inched up 0.8% in the past three months, against the industry’s decline of 2.6%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Cedar Realty Trust’s current-year FFO per share has been raised 2.6% in the past month. CDR currently sports a Zacks Rank  of 1.

Over the last four quarters, Cedar Realty’s FFO per share surpassed the consensus estimate on two occasions and missed the mark on the remaining two, the average surprise being 6.40%. Shares of CDR have appreciated 46.3% in the past six months, outperforming the industry’s rally of 4.3%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Apple Hospitality REIT’s 2021 FFO per share has moved 4.9% north in the past month. APLE currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Over the last four quarters, Apple Hospitality’s FFO per share surpassed the consensus mark thrice and missed the same once, the average negative surprise being 14.2%. Shares of APLE have declined 1.6% in the past three months compared with the industry’s fall of 2.6%.

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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