3 REITs That Just Trounced Analyst Earnings Estimates

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REIT’s second-quarter earnings reports are now in full swing, with several being released daily. Although many investors focus each quarter on whether or not the company beats the analyst estimates, it's also important to note whether the company has improved its numbers from the same quarter a year ago. If company earnings are sliding, it tends to dampen Wall Street’s enthusiasm, even if earnings are ahead of the present estimates.

Several REITs, such as Agree Realty Corporation (NYSE:ADC) and CTO Realty Growth Inc (NYSE:CTO) have recently reported earnings that beat the analyst estimates and topped the earnings from the same quarter a year ago. Over the past few days, three more REITs have joined this elite group. Take a look:

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American Tower Corp

American Tower Corp (NYSE:AMT) is a Boston, MA-based specialty REIT that calls itself "a global leader in wireless infrastructure." Founded in 1995, American Tower owns, operates and develops wireless and broadcast communications real estate. Most of its business is leasing space on wireless and broadcast towers, and it also leases portions of the land below the tower for equipment storage. Typical tower components are coaxial cabling and fiber optic cables.

American Tower has a presence in 224,000 global communication sites across 25 countries on six continents. Over 42,000 properties are in the U.S., and approximately 182,000 are international properties. Contracts usually have a term of five to ten years, with renewal options and annual lease escalators of approximately 3%.

On July 30, American Tower released its second-quarter operating results. Adjusted Funds From Operations (AFFO) of $2.79 per share beat the analyst consensus estimate of $2.53 by 10.2% and more impressively topped its Q2 2023 AFFO of $2.46 by 13.4%. Revenue of $2.9 billion was ahead of estimates for $2.823 billion and bested the year-ago quarter of $2.772 billion.

On July 1, Goldman Sachs analyst James Schneider initiated coverage on American Tower with a Buy rating and announced a $230 price target. Its recent closing price of $194.57 represents a significant potential upside of 18.2%.



American Tower shares were trading almost 2% higher after the earnings release.

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Safehold

Safehold Inc. (NYSE:SAFE) is a New York-based, externally managed specialized REIT that acquires, manages, and ultimately produces income from a $6.5 billion portfolio of 135 ground net leases in 40 unique U.S. markets. Safehold diversifies across property types such as multifamily, office, hotel, retail, industrial, life science, student, and senior housing.

On July 29, Safehold reported its second-quarter operating results. AFFO of $0.41 beat the street estimate of $0.36 per share by 13.89% and its Q2 2023 AFFO of $0.35 by 17.14%. Revenue of $89.89 million beat the consensus estimate of $88.19 million and was ahead of $85.66 million in Q2 2023.

This was the second consecutive quarter in which Safehold beat all the estimates and improved upon its same-quarter previous year's number.

In recent news, on July 8, Safehold announced it closed on ground leases on the development of four affordable housing communities with 781 units across four locations in Northern California. Safehold has now closed $6.5 billion in ground leases in 2024.

Cousins Properties

Cousins Properties Inc. (NYSE:CUZ) is an Atlanta, GA-based office REIT, founded in 1958, with a present portfolio of 19.1 million square feet of Class A office towers located in high-growth markets of the Sun Belt.

Most of Cousins' portfolio consists of newer office buildings, with an average construction year of 2004. Its buildings include upscale amenities like exercise facilities, meeting rooms, wellness centers and cafes. Because of this, it can command rents approximately 24% higher than the Class A Average in its core markets of Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Dallas, Phoenix and Tampa. Its tenants are high-grade and diversified by industry. Its June 2024 occupancy rate was 90.8%, just slightly below the 91.1% pre-COVID occupancy rate.

On July 25, Cousins Properties reported its Q2 operating results. FFO of $0.68 was ahead of the forecast of $0.66 and above its FFO of $0.65 in Q2 2023. Revenue of $212.978 million beat the estimate of $209.372 million and topped its Q2 2023 revenue of $204.320 million.

Cousins Properties also raised the midpoint of its full-year 2024 FFO guidance from $2.60-$2.67 to $2.63-$2.68 per share. The street estimate is for $2.65.

Along with the operating results, Cousins Properties announced the acquisition of two new mezzanine loans secured by existing office properties in Nashville, TN, and Charlotte, NC. The initial commitment is $27.2 million, with a potential total commitment of $37.0 million, and the initial maturity dates are June 2025 and February 2026.

On July 30, Barclays analyst Anthony Powell maintained an Overweight position on Cousins Properties and raised the price target 20% from $25 to $30.

Cousins Properties has had a blistering month, with a total return of 21.19% between July 1 and July 29.

These REITs Aren't Your Only Option For High Yields

The current high-interest-rate environment has created an incredible opportunity for income-seeking investors to earn massive yields, but not through public REITs.  Certain private market real estate investments are giving retail investors the opportunity to capitalize on these high-yield opportunities and Benzinga has identified some of the most attractive options for you to consider.

For example, this Jeff Bezos-backed investment platform just launched its Private Credit Fund, which provides access to a pool of short-term loans backed by residential real estate with a target 7% to 9% net annual yield paid to investors monthly. The best part? Unlike other private credit funds, this one has a minimum investment of only $100.

Don't miss out on this opportunity to take advantage of high-yield investments while rates are high. Check out Benzinga's favorite high-yield offerings.

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