Federal Realty sees annual FFO above expectations on growing leasing demand
(Reuters) - Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE: FRT ) forecast annual funds from operations (FFO) above estimates on Thursday, betting on higher rental prices and growing leasing demand for its commercial real estate spaces.
Retailers and grocery store operators such as Nordstrom (NYSE: JWN ) and Walmart (NYSE: WMT ) — who are seeing steady consumer demand — have been expanding their footprint, helping boost demand for real estate investment trusts including Federal Realty and Regency Centers (NASDAQ: REG ).
Federal Realty said that, as of December 31, 2024, its portfolio was 96.2% leased, an over 200-basis-point increase compared with the prior year.
Federal Realty's portfolio comprises over 100 diverse properties in densely populated areas, including dining, entertainment and office spaces.
It also includes shopping centers rented to retailers such as Target (NYSE: TGT ), Best Buy (NYSE: BBY ), Nike (NYSE: NKE ) and Trader Joe's, among others.
Federal Realty expects annual FFO per share to be in the range of $7.10 to $7.22, compared with analysts' expectations of $7.00.
The company's quarterly revenue rose 6.7% to $311.4 million, compared with the analysts' average estimate of $311.3 million, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Its quarterly funds from operations, a key metric for REITs, came in at $1.73 per share, compared with an analysts' estimate of $1.74 per share.
Regency, which also counts Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ: ULTA ) and TJ Maxx-parent TJX (NYSE: TJX ) among its tenants, topped fourth-quarter estimates for FFO, and Kimco Realty (NYSE: KIM ), which focuses on grocery-anchored shopping centers, posted a year-over-year growth in quarterly FFO.