Omicron Arrives • Cannabis REIT IPO • Income Builder Addition
Summary
- U.S. equity markets slid for the second-straight day, retreating from strong early-session gains on another volatile session following the reported arrival of the first known U.S. case of the Omicron variant.
- Following declines of 2% yesterday and suffering its worst two-day decline since October 2020, the S&P 500 dipped 1.2% today while the Mid-Cap 400 declined 1.6% and the Small-Cap 600 slipped 1.5%.
- Real estate equities were broadly lower as well as the Equity REIT Index declined 1.7% today with 18-of-19 property sectors in negative territory while Mortgage REITs declined 1.4%.
- We'll soon see a fourth exchange-listed cannabis REIT. Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance announced plans to raise $106M in its upcoming IPO and will list on NASDAQ under the symbol "REFI."
- We're excited to announce the addition of Philip Eric Jones to the Hoya Capital Income Builder contributor team, who will further deepen our REIT coverage.
Income Builder Daily Recap
We're excited to announce the addition of Philip Eric Jones to the Hoya Capital Income Builder contributor team, who will further deepen our REIT coverage. Members now have access to his library of research reports in which he details a unique investment approach to REITs – the FROG ('Fast Rate of Growth") Approach. If you're not already on board, give us a try with a completely risk-free two-week trial and take a look around.
U.S. equity markets slid for the second-straight day, retreating from strong early-session gains on another volatile session following the reported arrival of the first known U.S. case of the Omicron variant. Following declines of 2% yesterday and suffering its worst two-day decline since October 2020, the S&P 500 dipped another 1.2% today while the Mid-Cap 400 declined 1.6% and the Small-Cap 600 slipped 1.5%. Real estate equities were broadly lower as well as the Equity REIT Index declined 1.7% today with 18-of-19 property sectors in negative territory while Mortgage REITs declined 1.4%.
While early indications suggest that the new variant may be less virulent than past varieties, investors remained concerned over the government response as selling pressure intensified following the Biden Administration's announcement of additional travel restrictions - two days after suggesting otherwise. Ten of the eleven GICS equity sectors finished lower on the day while the 10-Year Treasury Yield retreated to the lowest levels since late September. Homebuilders and the broader Hoya Capital Housing Index were a bright spot.
Equity REIT Daily Recap
Cannabis: We'll soon see a fourth exchange-listed cannabis REIT - the best-performing property sector since the start of 2018. Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance announced plans to offer 6.25 million shares at $16 to $18 per share in a bid to raise about $106 million in its upcoming initial public offering and will list on NASDAQ under the symbol "REFI." Similar to AFC Gamma (AFCG) - which went public in March - REFI will operate as a mortgage REIT and has originated and closed 30 loans totaling approximately $649.0 million to companies operating in the cannabis industry. We're finalizing an exclusive report on Income Builder this evening that will analyze the latest developments and our updated outlook for the cannabis REIT sector.
Shopping Center: Yesterday, we published Shopping Center REITs: Bargain Hunting. Bouncing back from punishing pandemic-related declines, Shopping Center REITs are on the cusp of a full recovery across all critical metrics - but Omicron introduces fresh uncertainty - and also potential opportunity. The retail landscape has improved dramatically this year. Retail sales are on-pace to rise over 15% this year while store closings are on-pace for the lowest level in a decade. Bargains in the shopping center REIT sector were becoming hard to find before the Omicron-driven sell-off. We continue to favor the "essential" grocery-anchored REITs, but see emerging bargains in power center REITs.
Mortgage REIT Daily Recap
Per the REIT Rankings Tracker available to Income Builder subscribers, residential mREITs finished lower by 1.2% today while commercial mREITs slipped 1.3%. PennyMac Mortgage (PMT) and Western Asset (WMC) were the leaders on the day while iStar (STAR) and Orchid Island (ORC) lagged. The average residential mREIT now pays a dividend yield of 9.77% while the average commercial mREIT pays a dividend yield of 6.61%.
REIT Preferreds & Capital Raising
Per the REIT Preferred Tracker available to Income Builder subscribers, REIT Preferreds were lower by 0.41% but remain higher by 8.16% on a price-return basis and roughly 15% on a total return basis. Yesterday, Public Storage (PSA) announced the redemption of its 4.90% Cumulative Preferred Shares, Series E (PSA.PE) on December 30, 2021.
Income Builder Trending Reports
Below we highlight several of the most-read reports over the last 24 hours published by the Income Builder contributor team.
Economic Data This Week
Employment data highlights the economic calendar in the week ahead, headlined by ADP Employment data on Wednesday, Jobless Claims on Thursday, and the BLS Nonfarm Payrolls report on Friday. Economists are looking for job growth of 563K in November following last month's better-than-expected employment growth of 531K and for the unemployment rate to tick lower to 4.5%.
Disclosure: Hoya Capital Real Estate advises two Exchange-Traded Funds listed on the NYSE. In addition to any long positions listed, Hoya Capital is long all components in the Hoya Capital Housing Index and in the Hoya Capital High Dividend Yield Index. Index definitions and a complete list of holdings are available on our website.
We're excited to announce the launch of Hoya Capital Income Builder - the new premier income-focused investing service offered exclusively through Seeking Alpha Marketplace. We've assembled the top contributors and analysts from across Seeking Alpha and beyond including Gen Alpha, ETF Monkey, Retired Investor, Sunday Investor, and Alex Mansour.
Our focus is real income-producing assets that offer the opportunity for monthly income, diversification, and inflation hedging. Members gain complete access to our investment research and our suite of trackers and exclusive portfolios targeting premium dividend yields of up to 10%.
Start Your FREE Two-Week Trial
Analyst's Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of RIET, HOMZ either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives.
Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.