Jefferies Reiterates Hold Rating on Developers Diversified Realty

After “commendable efforts to delever its balance sheet over the past two years, the story at Developers Diversified Realty DDR has shifted to more of an offensive mindset with a growing acquisition/development pipeline,” Jefferies reports. “That said, we reiterate our Hold rating as the risk of rising interest rates is a concern given 1) ~14% of DDR's total debt is variable, and 2) ~$1.1B in debt due in 2011 will need to be addressed in a potentially higher interest rate environment,” Jefferies writes. Developers Diversified Realty closed Wednesday at $14.46.