Janney/REITs: Weekly REITCap: Portfolio Managers Guide to Property REITs

FULL REPORT REITS

Weekly REITCap: Portfolio Managers Guide to Property REITs – September 9, 2016

Our Weekly REITCap Portfolio Managers Guide provides general corporate information, total returns, valuation and balance sheet measures for 150+ property REITs across the major asset types (e.g. office, multifamily, retail, industrial), as well as more esoteric REITs (such as the prisons and towers).

For the week ending September 8, the MSCI US REIT Index (RMZ) return was +0.9% versus the S&P 500 return of +0.5%. The NASDAQ was +0.6%, the DJIA was +0.3%, the Russell 2000 was +1.5%, the DJ Utilities were +2.6%, and the S&P Financials were +0.2%. The best-performing REIT subsectors last week were Data Centers and Towers (+2.3%), Triple-Net Lease (+2.2%), and Office-Suburban (+2.1%), while the worst were Hotels (-2.7%), Storage (-0.6%), and Apartments (-0.1%). The best-performing REIT stocks last week were GEO (+10.6%), IRT (+6.8%), and MNR (+5.4%), while the worst were CMCT (-8.2%), AHT (-5.0%), and HST (-4.3%). .

YTD REITs are now outperformingthe S&P 500 by 640bps. The REIT sector is now +14.8% in 2016, while the S&P 500 is +8.4%, both on a total return basis. YTD the Russell 2000 total return is +10.8%, the NASDAQ is +5.0%, the DJIA is +6.1%, the DJ Utilities are +18.0%, and the S&P Financials are +3.9%. The best-performing REIT subsectors YTD are Triple-Net Lease (+34.0%), Industrial (+32.2%), and Healthcare (+25.4%), while the worst are Storage (-8.3%), Apartments (+0.2%), and Single-Family Rentals (+2.6%). The best-performing REIT stocks YTD are SNH (+70.2%), GOV (+65.1%), and NXRT (+62.6%), while the worst are CXW (-37.4%), GEO (-19.8%), and NYRT (-14.3%). .

Over the past 12 months, the REIT sector total return is +27.9%, while the S&P 500 is +13.2%. Over the last 3 months, the REIT sector total return is +6.5%, while the S&P 500 is +3.5%. The US is outperformingmany of the major global real estate markets YTD. The YTD US REIT total return of +14.8% compares to +1.8% for Europe, +12.2% for Asia, -6.8% for the UK, and +15.6% for Australia. REIT sector’s average cash dividend yield is 3.7%. This compares to the average yields on the 10-year Treasury (1.6%) and Moody’s Baa Corporate Bond Index (4.2%). .

We remain Neutral on the US Property REITs. With a 10% total return expectation for 2016, we remain Neutral on the US Property REITs, as solid internal growth and continued access to inexpensive and plentiful capital are somewhat offset by strong valuations, greater levels of new supply, and the threat of higher interest rates. In terms of our subsector views, we are positive on the Multifamily, CBD Office, and Industrial subsectors; neutral on Data Centers, Regional Malls, Self-Storage, Shopping Centers, Student & Manufactured Housing, Tower, and Triple-Net; and negative on Diversified, Healthcare, Hotels, Suburban Office, and Single-Family REITs. Specific company ratings and operating details can be found inside. .

No changes to our earnings and fair value estimates this week Our favorite small-cap REITs are ADC, AHH, CIO and TIER. We also like MAA and NNN among the mid-cap names, and AIV, EQR, and O among the large-cap REITs. We launched coverage this week of Spirit Realty (SRC) and Monogram Residential (MORE). See our company-specific reports for complete details.

STIFEL: OFC ($29.15, Hold) - Baltimore Washington Corridor Market, Fort Meade, Cybersecurity. Hold.

FULL MODEL FULL REPORT   Baltimore Washington Corridor Market, Fort Meade, Cybersecurity. Hold.

After a number of conversations with local market participants, we are updating our bull/bear case points for Corporate Office Properties Trust, and updating our thoughts on Fort Meade and the Baltimore-Washington Corridor (BW Corridor) office market. Please reference our recent industry note entitled Conference Call 9/7/16 - Value Creation or Destruction and Lease Economics Analysis. SLIDES ATTACHED. Dial-in Info Below. for detail on leasing economics and value creation potential.

The Corporate Office Properties Trust bull case is: 1) core portfolio fundamentals continue the bounce off the 3Q15 bottom, 2) cybersecurity spending (government, military, corporate) is expected to aggressively increase, 3) defense contractor demand is expected to pick up, 4) the defense IT niche is unique and 5) dispositions are providing a source of capital for development.   OFC bear case: 1) leasing economics are weak, but middle of the pack for Office REITs, 2) while Fort Meade and the BW corridor is the epicenter for military cybersecurity, other government and corporate cybersecurity has more of a Northern Virginia presence, 3) smaller defense contractors appear to be in an expansion mode, while the larger defense contractors do not appear to be taking more space, 4) defense contractors and the federal government are both notoriously frugal when it comes to leasing space, 5) leasing of informed federal government build-to-suits at National Business Park and Westfield Park totaling 352k SF, may not generate lease revenue until mid 2018. A recent environmental impact report indicates that 2.9mm SF of new development on Fort Meade will be offset by 1.9mm SF of demolition. The timing is 5-10 years. This is in addition to 1) the recently completed 600k SF data center, 2) the 242k SF Joint Cyber Command HQ under construction, 3) the 148k SF Marine Corps Cyber Command about to commence, 4) an estimated $50mm spent annually on infrastructure. Fort Meade is the headquarters for the National Security Administration (NSA), Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) and roughly 100 other federal government agencies. The federal government appears to have a preference for owning on Fort Meade or leasing 100% of a building at three primary off-base, but fenced and fully secure locations -- National Business Park, Annapolis Junction, Emerson Corporate Center. Interestingly, while the projects on base appear to be very costly, the off-base lease economics appear to be RFP driven and very thin. The 3.9mm SF National Business Park appears to have total availability of roughly 7%, plus the 7% availability in two OFC developments; 310 Sentinel and 540 NB Parkway.   Leasing statistics through 2Q16 for the BWI/Anne Arundel submarket (essentially east of Rte. 1). While absorption averaged 360k SF during 2006-2013, total absorption 2014-1H16 was 132k SF.   We think OFC is appropriately valued at 1) 7.0%/5.9%/5.0% implied NOI/cash flow/CF less G&A cap rates, 2) below our NAV cap rate range of 7.5%-8.0%, 3) 2017E FFO/FAD multiples of 13.9x/17.8x.   We are not adjusting our estimates at this time.

JANNEY - Monogram Residential Trust Inc MORE - BUY Price - $10.59 | Fair Value Estimate - $11.50

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We are initiating coverage of MORE with a Buy rating. Our $11.50 estimate of fair value implies ~9% upside for the stock, which we believe when combined with a 2.8% dividend yield, provides an attractive potential return in the current market environment.

• Apartment REIT focused on Class A properties. Based in Plano, Texas, MORE owned a portfolio of 54 apartment properties (including 2 under construction) across 10 Coastal and Sunbelt states totaling 15,211 units as of June 30. Also, MORE’s portfolio was 94.6% leased with a weighted average monthly rent of $1,909.

• Reasons to own MORE: One of the newest portfolios, discounted valuation, and growth potential. We see upside to MORE’s stock price given (1) the benefits of one of the newest portfolios in the apartment space, (2) a discounted NAV valuation, and (3) ability to produce outsized growth both internally and externally over the next few years.

• NAV valuations are attractive. MORE is trading at a 5.8% nominal implied capitalization rate (5.5% economic) or $204,000 per unit. This compares to the apartment REIT peer group at 5.3% (4.9%) and $334,000 per unit, respectively. Our $11.50 fair value estimate is based on our DCF valuation model.

• Complexity issues, higher leverage, cost of capital, and less liquidity our biggest concerns. The MORE story is not without risks, most notably: (1) the majority of its assets are owned within JVs, which causes complexity issues and may have difficulty attracting the generalist investor; (2) despite recent improvements, MORE’s leverage levels are significantly higher than its peers; and (3) MORE has a higher cost of (and less access to) capital and less liquidity than its peers.

• We remain Neutral on the US REITs, despite the group having already exceeded our 10% total return expectation for 2016. Heading into 2H16, we believe strong generalist investor interest, solid internal growth, and continued access to inexpensive and plentiful capital are somewhat offset by strong valuations, greater levels of new supply, and the threat of higher interest rates.

NOMURA - Japan housing & real estate sector - Office demand down for third straight month

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Daisuke Fukushima
Vacancy rate continues to improve on multiple demolitions, rent upside strengthens

According to major real estate brokerage Miki Shoji, the office vacancy rate in Tokyo’s five central wards improved 4bp m-m to 3.90% in August 2016. Growth in advertised rents remained weak, up only 4.75% y-y, but this nevertheless represents a gradual improvement on 3.98% in January 2016, the weakest recent month. Office demand, a key indicator, fell 5,794 tsubo (3.3m²) m-m, thereby registering its third consecutive monthly decline. However, the vacancy rate improved because eight office buildings were demolished and therefore removed from the survey/statistics, which are now based on 2,591 office buildings, with the result that leasable office floor space fell 9,430 tsubo m-m to 7.28mn tsubo while vacant space fell 3,636 tsubo to 283,896 tsubo. While three straight months of falling demand for office space will warrant ongoing attention as it constitutes the first such move since end-2009/early 2010, the summer is not a particularly strong season for office demand to start with, and we therefore think it would be premature to say that demand has moved into a sustained downtrend along the lines of 2008, when the global financial crisis occurred. We think it would be prudent to maintain a wait-and-see attitude for now. We continue to recommend Mitsui Fudosan [8801] and Tokyo Tatemono [8804] for rising rents and low P/NAV ratios.

STIFEL: Rtl REIT - Retail REIT Comp Sheets 9/6/16

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Retail REIT Comp Sheets 9/6/16

REITs were up 1.53% last week. REITs were down 3.7% in August, but are up 14.7% YTD. Retail REITs are slightly underperforming the REIT index YTD, up 14.6%, as regional malls are up 12.9% and shopping centers are up 17.2%.
The REIT sector is trading at a 3.5% premium to NAV. Regional malls are attractively priced to the REIT sector, in our view, trading at a 9.6% discount to NAV while shopping centers are trading at a 6.3% premium to NAV.

• Real estate received its own Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS) by S&P and MSCI as of the close on August 31. Real estate was previously part of the financials and is now the 11th GICS sector. The changes will be implemented September 6. All equity REITs will go into the new sector while commercial finance REITs will remain with financials. There are 27 REITs in the S&P 500.

• WP Glimcher is now Washington Prime Group (WPG, $13.85, NC) following approval of its shareholders at its annual meeting last week. WPG also appointed Sheryl von Blucher to its Board of Directors, filling the vacancy created by the retirement of Marvin L. White. Ms. Von Blucher currently serves as partner and managing director for JMJS Group, a private equity partnership. Prior to JMJS, Ms. Von Blucher led international analysis, strategy and corporate affairs for Heritage Amoco of British Petroleum (BP Amoco).

• Macerich (MAC, $81.92, Hold) officially opened its expanded and redeveloped Broadway Plaza in Walnut Creek, CA. The phase I expansion added 235k sf of small-shop space, more than doubling the amount of small-shop square footage. The expansion is over 90% leased to well-known retailers, such as Arhaus, H&M, J. Crew, lululemon athletica, Madewell, Michael Kors, and Zara. MAC is adding over 50 new retailers to the center through expansion. The new space was created by the construction of a more efficient parking structure and the consolidation of the stand-alone Macy’s Men’s Store into a single larger Macy’s box. Phase I encompassed the demolition of 80k sf of existing retail space and construction of 240k sf of new retail space while phase II involves the demolition of the existing Macy’s Men’s building and 75k sf of new retail sf for a total of 235k sf.

• CBL & Associates (CBL, $40.62, Hold) and its JV partner, High Real Estate Group sold High Pointe Commons in Harrisburg, PA for $33.8 million. A Target and JC Penney anchored the 355k sf community center. CBL used the net sale proceeds of $8.2 million to reduce borrowings on their credit facilities.

Pricing as of 9/2/16 close.

STIFEL: Office/Industrial REITs - Conference Call 9/7/16 - Value Creation or Destruction and Lease Economics Analysis. SLIDES ATTACHED. Dial-in Info Below.

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Conference Call 9/7/16 - Value Creation or Destruction and Lease Economics Analysis. SLIDES ATTACHED. Dial-in Info Below.

• We are hosting a conference call on Wednesday, September 7 at 11AM ET. Dial in numbers are as follows: (888) 267-2848 (Domestic); (973) 413-6103 (International); Conference ID: 987648;

• A replay of this conference call will be available through September 21, 2016 - Replay dial in numbers are as follows: (800) 332-6854 (Domestic); (973) 528-0005 (International); Conference ID: 987648

• We believe the best way to determine a company's ability to create (or destroy) value is to 1) review its Net Asset Value at a static cap rate, 2) adjust for dividends paid, 3) evaluate the lease economics and then 4) overlay projected property market conditions, portfolio expectations and development-driven value creation.

• The body of this report reviews each company under our coverage and its Net Asset Value plus dividends paid during (in most cases) 2006-1H2016. In our summary of each company, we also provided a projection given the current strategy, development pipeline and lease economics.

• Additionally, we have compared and contrasted the Lease Economics Analysis for the Office & Industrial REITs under coverage. We recently started this analysis to provide a forward look at expected portfolio performance based on the re-leasing spreads combined with the re-leasing costs. Evaluating one without the other is similar to a PB&J without either the PB or the J.

Pricing as of 9/6/16

• Our primary conclusions: 1) creating value without the benefit of cap rate compression is not easy, 2) asset re-cycling and portfolio re-positioning appear to be working, 3) the dividend is vital over the long term, 4) quality development worked, while commodity development, plus high land inventories, proved disastrous, 5) the 2009 re-equifications were painful, 6) prudent, proactive equity raises were helpful, 7) quality assets and submarkets usually ruled the day, 8) high re-leasing costs and marginal re-leasing spreads result in value erosion

METHODOLOGY -- No Cap Rate Geniuses

• Our methodology was to hold the cap rate fixed for the time period reviewed to determine share value creation or destruction absent cap rate fluctuations (no "cap rate geniuses" allowed), and add the dividend paid in order to determine portfolio value created or destroyed and total shareholder return.

• For some companies with major portfolio re-positioning strategies, we adjusted the underlying cap rate.

• This captures, from a valuation perspective, hard-to-detect nuances such as 1) excess capex and re-tenanting costs, 2) cash costs for balance sheet management, which were real costs in spite of being excluded from FFO, 3) real re-development returns, 4) the importance of the dividend in total return to shareholders, and 5) stock based compensation.

• Note that we usually annualized our NAV estimates as quarterly estimates have often been volatile historically.

Weekly Holla! Prisons Break (Again) [Omotayo Okusanya, George Hoglund, Jonathan Petersen]

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The RMZ was up (+1.5%) last week, outperforming the S&P 500 (+0.5%), as the 10 Year Treasury yield decreased 3 bps to 1.60%. Industrial (+2.7%) Office (+2.6%), and Infrastructure (+2.2%) outperformed. Prisons (-6.8%) underperformed on more negative sector news (see below). Lodging (-2.0%) and Retail - Malls (+1.1%) also underperformed.

FBR - 2Q16 Earnings Recap: Updating Investment Ratings, Price Targets, and Estimate Changes; Highlighting Main Takeaways

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With 2Q16 reporting now wrapped up for the REITs and special servicers, we are providing updated investment ratings, price targets, and estimate changes for our coverage. Additionally, we are highlighting our strongest picks and most noteworthy takeaways coming out of earnings season.

DNB NEWS & RESEARCH for 9/6

RESEARCH:
STATOIL:       REIT BUY, PT NOK160 impressive cost-cutting efforts
HUSQVARNA:     REIT BUY, PT SEK75see room for double-digit EPS growth
GETINGE:       REIT SELL,PT SEK165 LT we believe that the roll-up story is over

STIFEL: Triple-Net - Triple-Net REIT Comp Sheets 9/5/2016

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riple-Net REIT Comp Sheets 9/5/2016

• REITs Rally On Job Report, Sector Underperforms. The overall REIT sector gained 180 bps this past week and is +14.7% YTD. The triple-net sector underperformed, +130 bps for the week and is +32.8% YTD.

• Dividend Yield. Triple-net REITs are trading at 16.8x 2017E FFO as compared to equity REITs trading at 18.0x. The current dividend yield for the sector is 4.58% vs. the REIT sector dividend yield of 3.65%. The 93 bps spread is 70 bps below the long-term average spread of 163 bps.

• Real Estate Receives Its Own GICS Classification. As of the close on August 31, the real estate sector was separated from financials and became the 11th Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS) by S&P and MSCI. The changes will be implemented on September 16th.

• GPT Announces More Transactions. Gramercy Property Trust (GPT, $9.64, Buy) announced they have sold three more single-tenant office buildings in Princeton, New Jersey, Burlington, Massachusetts, and Bloomington, Minnesota as well as a single-tenant industrial property in Phoenix, Arizona for $206.7 million or a 7.4% forward cash cap rate. The properties had a weighted average lease term of 10.1 years. The company has $158.6 million of assets under contract with an additional $117.8 million being marketed. If those sales close, total dispositions would be $1.5 billion at a 6.8% cap rate, over 12 months ahead of the anticipated schedule. The company also announced two more acquisitions in the Chicago MSA for $60.2 million or a 6.6% cash cap rate with a weighted average lease term of 17.2 years. An additional $342.6 million of assets are under contract/LOI at a 6.75% cap rate with a weighted average lease term of 12.2 years. Total acquisitions are $905.5 million at a 7.0% cap rate with a 12.4 year weighted average lease term.

• STOR receives Investment Grade Credit Rating From S&P. Store Capital Corporation (STOR, $29.64, Buy) received a BBB- credit rating from S&P with a positive outlook. STOR already obtained an investment grade rating from Fitch last November.

Priced as of close 9-2-2016.