Raymond James downgrades Saul Centers, Retail Opportunity to 'market perform"

Retail Opportunity Investments

04/01/2023 11:43

** Raymond James downgrades shopping center REITs Saul
Centers  BFS.N  and Retail Opportunity Investments Corp  ROIC.O 
to "market perform" from "outperform"
    ** Brokerage anticipates headwinds in Q1 of FY23 including
low funds from operations (FFO) growth and post-holiday fallout
of tenants
    ** Sees conservative guidance figures across the broad due
to macroeconomic headwinds like higher interest rates and bad
debts
    ** Brokerage says there is difficulty in generating interest
among investors towards "retail" REITs ahead of a recession
    ** One of three brokerages rate BFS "buy" and two "hold";
their median PT is $47 - Refinitiv data
    ** Up to Tuesday's close, BFS and ROIC were up 0.05% and
0.7% YTD, respectively
    ** Four of ten brokerages rate ROIC "buy" or higher and six
"hold"; their median PT is $17 - Refinitiv data
 (Reporting by Shristi Achar A in Bengaluru)
 ((Shristi.AcharA@thomsonreuters.com;))