Duke Realty's (DRE) Q1 FFO And Revenues Surpass Estimates

Duke Realty Corporation’s (NYSE:DRE) first-quarter 2018 funds from operations (FFO) per share of 31 cents surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny. However, the figure was lower than the year-ago figure of 32 cents.

Further, the company witnessed a decline in core FFO per share, which was 30 cents for the quarter under review compared with 32 cents recorded in first-quarter 2017.

Total revenues of $234.6 million in the reported quarter jumped 29.5% on a year-over-year basis, handily surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $183.8 million.

Quarter in Detail

Duke Realty leased around 6.9 million square feet of space in the reported quarter. Its tenant retention for the quarter was 68% and re-lease was 94% for all the leases that expired. Moreover, it registered same-property net operating income growth of 3.4% year over year. In fact, the company reported overall cash and annualized net effective rent growth related to new and renewal leases of 12% and 25.6%, respectively.

As of Mar 31, 2018, the company’s total occupancy, including properties under development, was 94.4%, up 60 basis points (bps) from the prior-quarter end. In-service occupancy as of the same date was 97%, up 130 bps from the prior-quarter figure.

Notably, the company completed the first quarter with a development pipeline aggregating 2.5 million square feet and project costs of $226 million that was 45% pre-leased.

Duke Realty exited the reported quarter with $160.9 million of cash and cash equivalents, significantly up from $67.6 million as of Dec 31, 2017.

2018 Guidance

Duke Realty updated 2018 guidance for core FFO per share of $1.26-$1.32, up from $1.24-$1.30. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the same is currently pegged at $1.27.

Notably, the company’s guidance is based on the increased occupancy in new properties and faster-than-expected acquisitions.

Dividend Update

Concurrent with its earnings release, Duke Realty announced a quarterly cash dividend on common stock of 20 cents per share. The first-quarter dividend will be paid on May 31 to shareholders of record as of May 16, 2018.

Our Viewpoint

In a bid to transform into a domestic-focused industrial-property REIT, Duke Realty resorted to the sale of sub-urban office assets and medical-office buildings in the past. The company is well positioned to benefit from escalating demand for industrial properties by offering modern distribution facilities in strategic in-fill locations.

However, large-scale asset dispositions are expected to have a dilutive effect on earnings in the near term. Further, stiff competition and rate hike remain concerns.

Duke Realty Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Currently, Duke Realty has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

We now look forward to the earnings releases of other REITs like Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (NYSE:ARE) , Regency Centers Corporation (NYSE:REG) and Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) . Alexandria and Regency Centers are scheduled to release results on Apr 30, while Welltower is slated to report numbers on May 1.

Note: Anything related to earnings presented in this write-up represents funds from operations (FFO) — a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs.

More Stock News: This Is Bigger than the iPhone!

It could become the mother of all technological revolutions. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) sold a mere 1 billion iPhones in 10 years but a new breakthrough is expected to generate more than 27 billion devices in just 3 years, creating a $1.7 trillion market.

Zacks has just released a Special Report that spotlights this fast-emerging phenomenon and 6 tickers for taking advantage of it. If you don't buy now, you may kick yourself in 2020.

Click here for the 6 trades >>