Ushering in good news for Boston Properties Inc. (BXP Quick QuoteBXP - Free Report) , Moody's Investors Service, Inc., the rating arm of Moody’s Corp. (MCO Quick QuoteMCO - Free Report) announced that it has affirmed the ratings of the company and revised the outlook to positive from stable.

Per the rating agency, this move reveals the progress made by Boston Properties in lowering its secured leverage and increasing the unencumbered asset ratio. Further, a measured approach pursued by the Massachusetts-based real estate investment trust (“REIT”) pertaining to its development expenses along with the robust earnings streams, led to this upward revision.

To be specific, secured leverage improved from 20% in first-quarter 2015 to 16.1% in first-quarter 2016. Further, during the same time frame unencumbered asset ratio rose from 66% to 74%. Importantly, the unencumbered asset ratio is likely to further move up on the back of new unencumbered acquisitions and development activities.

The rating affirmation reassures a company’s creditworthiness in the market and is likely to support investors’ confidence in the stock. This ensures continuous accessibility to the capital required for a company’s growth.

Boston Properties owns and develops Class A office real estates in the U.S.  The company also operates retail properties, residential properties and a hotel.

BOSTON PPTYS Price

BOSTON PPTYS Price | BOSTON PPTYS Quote

Currently, Boston Properties has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and Moody’s carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Investors interested in the REIT sector can consider other favorably ranked stocks like Equity Commonwealth (EQC Quick QuoteEQC - Free Report) and W. P. Carey Inc. (WPC Quick QuoteWPC - Free Report) . Both these stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

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