Retail Properties Of America Inks Lease With Ulta Beauty

Oak Brook, IL-based retail real estate investment trust (REIT), Retail Properties of America, Inc. (NYSE:RPAI) , announced that Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) , has inked a new lease at Huebner Oaks. Slated to open in fall 2017, the Bolingbrook, IL-based beauty retailer will occupy 8,000 square feet of retail space in the 287,000 square feet Huebner Oaks.

With the opening of the center, Ulta Beauty, the premier beauty destination for cosmetics, fragrance, skin, hair care products and salon services, will be joining top retailers like Bath & Body Works, Victoria's Secret, Gap Chico's, Old Navy and REI, along with other national retailers.

Huebner Oaks, which is 99% leased, can be easily accessed from I-10 and boasts a strong retail and restaurant lineup. The addition of Ulta Beauty to this center is likely to benefit Retail Properties of America going forward.

Shares of Retail Properties of America underperformed the Zacks categorized REIT and Equity Trust - Retail industry in the last three months. Shares of the company decreased 16.1%, whereas the industry lost 11%.



Currently, Retail Properties of America carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), whereas Ulta Beauty has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Investors interested in the REIT space, may consider stocks like Easterly Government Properties, Inc. (NYSE:DEA) and Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) , each carrying a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

In the last 30 days, Easterly Government Properties’ funds from operations (FFO) per share for second-quarter 2017 remained unchanged at 31 cents.

In the last 30 days, Gaming and Leisure Properties’ FFO per share for second-quarter 2017 moved up 1.3% to 77 cents.

Note: FFO, a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs, is obtained after adding depreciation and amortization and other non-cash expenses to net income. All EPS numbers presented in this write up represent FFO per share.

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