Regency Centers Lifts 2014 FFO Outlook; Sees 2015 FFO In Line With View

(RTTNews) - Real estate investment trust Regency Centers Corp. (REG) on Monday raised its outlook for fiscal 2014 funds from operations or FFO, and also provided initial forecast for fiscal 2015 FFO in line with analysts' expectations.

For fiscal 2014, Regency Centers now forecasts FFO in a range of $2.88 to $2.91 per share, and core FFO in a range of $2.81 to $2.83 per share. Earlier, the company forecast 2014 FFO as well as core FFO in a range of $2.80 to $2.83 per share.

On average, 15 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect the company to report earnings of $2.82 per share for the year. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Regency Centers previously acquired the common stock of Houston, Texas-based AmREIT, Inc. (AMRE) for a total investment of $14.3 million.

Subsequent to AmREIT's announcement on October 31, 2014 that it entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Edens Investment Trust in a deal valued at about $763 million, Regency liquidated its equity position in AmREIT, which, after associated pursuit costs, resulted in a net gain of about $6 million.

Regency Centers has reflected this gain in its update to fiscal 2014 FFO guidance. However, due to the one-time nature of this transaction, the net gain is not included in the company's update to full year 2014 Core FFO guidance.

Looking ahead to fiscal 2015, Regency Centers currently forecasts FFO in a range of $2.89 to $2.95 per share, and core FFO in a range of $2.91 to $2.97 per share. Analysts currently expect the company to report earnings of $2.96 per share for the year.

Regency Centers is an operator and developer of grocery-anchored neighborhood and community shopping centers. The company's portfolio of 326 retail properties encompasses over 43.6 million square feet located in key markets throughout the U.S., including co-investment partnerships.

REG is trading at $63.04, up $0.53 or 0.85 percent on a volume of 28,727 shares.