Investors Real Estate Trust "neutral," target price reduced

09/12/05 - D.A. Davidson & Co.

NEW YORK, September 12 (newratings.com) - Analyst James L Bellessa Jr of DA Davidson maintains his "neutral" rating on Investors Real Estate Trust (IRETS), while reducing his estimates for the company. The 12-18 month target price has been reduced from $9.75 to $9.25.

In a research note published this morning, the analyst mentions that the company has reported its F1Q FFO per share marginally short of the estimates on account of higher-than-expected operating expenses and vacancies at its commercial properties. Investors Real Estate Trust was unable to increase the rent enough to offset the increased costs during the quarter, DA Davidson says. The FFO per share estimates for FY06 and FY07 have been reduced from $0.82 to $0.77 and from $0.89 to $0.83, respectively.