WRI Has Well Positioned Balance Sheet

Analysts at Citigroup upgrade Weingarten Realty Investors WRI from "hold" to "buy." The target price for WRI is set to $24. According to Citigroup, “With a well positioned balance sheet, a very small development pipeline to stabilize ($176m or 3% of gross assets) and no JV issues, WRI is one of the ‘cleaner’ stories in the shopping centre REIT space. Perhaps the only ‘issue’ is the industrial portfolio that represents ~9% of NOI…. WRI has $100m of excess cash on balance sheet, and full capacity of $500m on the line. With net debt / EBITDA at 5.9x, and debt/GAV at 45%, equity should not need be raised for any acquisitions up to $500m.” “We increasingly like WRI for its attractive relative valuation, well positioned balance sheet, gradually improving portfolio conditions, and improving perception of management with the Street,” the analysts add. More Analyst Ratings here