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REIT Stocks' Q1 Earnings Due on Apr 27: AMT, AIV, DLR & SPG

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The first-quarter earnings season for real estate investment trust (REIT) companies is in full swing. A few big names from this sector which have already reported results are Prologis, Inc. (PLD - Free Report) , SL Green Realty Corp. (SLG - Free Report) and UDR, Inc. (UDR - Free Report) . While Prologis came up with better-than-expected funds from operations (FFO) per share results, SL Green and UDR, Inc. managed to post in-line results.

A few REITs representing different categories, which are set to release results on Apr 27, are American Tower Corporation (AMT - Free Report) , Apartment Investment and Management Company (AIV - Free Report) , Digital Realty Trust, Inc. (DLR - Free Report) and Simon Property Group, Inc. (SPG - Free Report) .

Despite the issues pertaining to interest rate, the performance of REIT companies depends on the individual asset class to which they cater as well as the location of their assets.

Per a study by a leading commercial real estate services firm, the overall industrial real estate market remained upbeat in the first-quarter 2017, despite higher supply.  Again, data center REITs witnessed a sort of boom, propelled by huge growth in cloud computing, Internet of Things and big data.

However, declining mall traffic and store closures amid aggressive growth in online sales kept retail REITs on tenterhooks. Also, rising number of deliveries of new units in a number of key markets have raised concerns for some of the residential REIT stocks.

Let’s take a look at what’s in store for the four REITs set to release their first-quarter results on Apr 27.

For doing this, we rely on the Zacks methodology, combining a favorable Zacks Rank – Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) – and a positive Earnings ESP, to predict the chances of a beat. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Per our proprietary methodology, Earnings ESP shows the percentage difference between the Most Accurate estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Research shows that with this combination of Zacks Rank and ESP, chances of a positive earnings surprise are as high as 70% for the stocks.

Boston, MA-based American Tower Corporation is expected to report results before the market opens. Per our model, the company is likely to deliver a positive surprise as it has an Earnings ESP of +1.99% and a Zacks Rank #3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Denver, CO-based Apartment Investment and Management Company, commonly known as Aimco, has an Earnings ESP of +1.72% and a Zacks Rank #3. Per our model, the company is also likely to deliver a positive surprise.

Digital Realty Trust is a San Francisco-based data center REIT, which is engaged in ownership, acquisition, repositioning and management of the technology-related real estate. The company has an Earnings ESP of 0.00% and a Zacks Rank #3. Our model does not conclusively predict that the company will deliver a positive surprise. (Read: Digital Realty to Post Q1 Earnings: What's in Store?).

Indianapolis, IN-based Simon Property is engaged in acquiring, owning and leasing a diverse portfolio of shopping malls. The company has an Earnings ESP of 0.00% and a Zacks Rank #3. Our model does not conclusively predict that the company will deliver a positive surprise. (Read: Simon Property to Report Q1 Earnings: What's in Store?).

Note: All EPS numbers presented in this write up represent funds from operations (“FFO”) per share. FFO, a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs, is obtained after adding depreciation and amortization and other non-cash expenses to net income.

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