09.10.07
NEW YORK -
Shares of real estate investment trusts traded lower Monday as a Goldman Sachs analyst downgraded CB Richard Ellis Group Inc., Health Care Property Investors Inc. and Weingarten Realty Investors on credit quality concerns.
Jonathan Habermann said this is not a time to aggressively buy shares of real estate investment trusts, as the sector is without a near-term catalyst. He lowered his several companies' price targets on the expectation of modest returns on REITs over the next six to 12 months.
Habermann said in a client note that he is focusing on higher quality names, as REITS are down approximately 12 percent to 13 percent for the year to date on worries about eroding credit quality and commercial real estate values.
To that end, Habermann raised his ratings on Avalonbay Communities Inc. and AMB Property Corp. to "Buy" from "Neutral." He cut Avalonbay's price target by $1 to $124 and maintained AMB's price target at $62.
Shares of Avalonbay Communities declined 46 cents to $110.67 in afternoon trading, while AMB Property's stock dipped 25 cents to $53.58.
Habermann also lowered his ratings on CB Richard Ellis Group and Health Care Property Investors to "Neutral" from "Buy," while cutting Weingarten Realty's rating to "Sell" from "Neutral."
He slashed his CB Richard Ellis Group price target by $13 to $29 and lowered Health Care Property Investors to $32 from $34. Habermann trimmed his Weingarten Realty price target by $3 to $37.
Shares of CB Richard Ellis dropped $1.64, or 6.4 percent, to $23.86. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $22.73 to $42.74. Health Care Property Investors' stock fell 16 cents to $29.80.
Elsewhere, shares of Weingarten Realty slipped $1.14, or 2.9 percent, to $38.28. In the past year, the stock has traded between $35.75 and $52.30.
Similarly, Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co. analyst Merrill Ross lowered price targets on several companies. She reduced BRT Realty Trust by $3 to $23 and cut JER Investors Trust Inc. to $18 from $22.
Shares of BRT Realty Trust fell 43 cents, or 2.2 percent, to $19.20. The stock has traded between $15.25 and $32.35 over the past 52 weeks. JER Investors Trust's stock shed 23 cents to $12.35. In the past year, the shares have traded between $8 and $21.57.
