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KBW Announces First Ever aREIT Honor Rolla Award Winners

^{Published on 2011-03-28 06:35:19 - Market Wire}
 

NEW YORK--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--KBW, Inc. (NYSE: KBW), a full-service investment bank that specializes in the financial services sector, today named 14 real estate investment trust companies to its inaugural REIT aDividenda Honor Roll of superior performers.

"For this reason, dividends were the primary selection criteria for the Honor Roll, and interestingly, the REITs awarded have significantly outperformed both the sector and the overall market in the last decade."

Honor Roll winners are publicly-traded REITs with a market capitalization of $500 million or greater that have consecutively increased or maintained regular cash dividends since 2000 and whose 2011 adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) payment ratio is lower than 95%.

KBW found that 14 companies, out of nearly 114 total companies screened, now qualify for inclusion in the KBW REIT aDividenda Honor Roll. The qualifying companies are: Public Storage (PSA), Corporate Office Properties Trust (OFC), Essex Property Trust, Inc. (ESS), PS Business Parks, Inc. (PSB), Taubman Centers Inc. (TCO), AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (AVB), Realty Income Corporation (O), Federal Realty Investment Trust (FRT), Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, Inc. (SKT), Urstadt Biddle Properties Inc. (UBA), National Retail Properties, Inc. (NNN), Sun Communities, Inc. (SUI), Health Care REIT, Inc. (HCN), Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (MAA).

aWhile there is a tremendous amount of focus by REIT investors on net asset value creation, we continue to believe, over time, dividends are a particularly relevant weighing mechanism and ultimately a key factor for investing in the sector,a noted KBWa™s Sheila McGrath, SVP Equity REIT Research. aFor this reason, dividends were the primary selection criteria for the Honor Roll, and interestingly, the REITs awarded have significantly outperformed both the sector and the overall market in the last decade.a

In terms of stock price performance, REIT Honor Roll companies significantly outperformed both the Morgan Stanley REIT Index (RMS) and the overall stock market for the period 2000-2010.

For the five-year period (2005-2010) the Honor Roll returned 71% vs. 16% and 12% for the RMS and S&P 500, respectively. For the 10-year period (2000-2010) those selected in the Honor Roll returned 424% vs. 173% and 15% for the RMS and S&P 500, respectively.

The current yield on the Honor Roll composite also compares favorably at 4.3%, vs. 3.5% for the RMS and 1.9% for the S&P. The current dividends for the KBW REIT aDividenda Honor Roll are well covered with an average AFFO payout ratio at 80.3%.

About KBW

KBW operates in the U.S., Europe and Asia through its broker dealer subsidiaries, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc., Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Limited and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Asia Limited. It also offers asset management services through KBW Asset Management, Inc. Founded in 1962, the firm is widely recognized as a leading authority in the banking, insurance, brokerage, asset management, mortgage banking, real estate and specialty finance sectors. The firm has established industry-leading positions in the areas of research, corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions as well as sales and trading in equities of financial services companies.