FRT Buys Kansas Retail Centers, Aims at Portfolio Quality Enhancement

Federal Realty FRT recently announced several transactions supporting its capital deployment strategy. The company has acquired two open-air retail centers in Kansas, sold a non-core asset in Los Angeles and commenced a new residential project at Santana Row. The initiative aims to recycle capital from mature assets into opportunities that strengthen portfolio quality and support long-term value creation.

FRT’s Acquisition of Kansas Retail Centers

Federal Realty acquired Town Center Plaza and Town Center Crossing in Leawood, KS, spanning 550,000 square feet in total, for $289 million. The two retail centers are located in Johnson County, a submarket witnessing favorable demographics with affluent backgrounds and strong job growth. These centers enjoy solid demand from retailers and boast top-tier tenants, such as Trader Joe’s, Apple and Sephora, among others.

FRT’s Disposition of Non-Core Assets

Federal Realty actively disposes of mature assets to acquire value accretive properties for long-term growth. Last month, the company closed on the sale of its Hollywood Boulevard retail portfolio in Los Angeles, stretching across 181,000 square feet, for $69 million. In May, it announced the sale of Levare, a 108-unit residential building within Santana Row, San Jose, CA, for $74 million. The company has further identified $1 billion of potential dispositions aimed at unlocking value.

FRT’s Development Efforts

Federal Realty is set to begin the development of Lot 12, a 258-unit residential project, for around $145 million this summer. This will enable the company to tap into the growing institutional demand for high-quality residential at Santana Row, a prominent mixed-use asset.

The company has two more residential projects in progress — a 45-unit residential building on Washington Street in Hoboken, NJ, expected to be delivered by 2027. The building with ground-floor retail is experiencing strong early retail leasing demand. The second one, a 217-unit multifamily project in Bala Cynwyd, PA, is set to deliver on expected lines by mid-2026.

FRT in a Nutshell

The above moves highlight Federal Realty’s efforts to capitalize on expansion opportunities in premium markets, which leads to income growth and creates long-term value. The company aims at disposing of mature assets and reinvesting the proceeds in such investments. Moreover, FRT is exploring the mixed-use development option, which has gained immense popularity in recent years as it helps catch the attention of people who prefer to live, work and play in the same area.

Over the past three months, shares of this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company have risen 4.9%, outperforming the industry's growth of 3.6%.

Stocks to Consider

Some better-ranked stocks from the broader REIT sector are SBA Communications SBAC and Uniti Group UNIT, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SBAC’s 2025 FFO per share is pegged at $12.74, moving marginally northward over the past two months.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for UNIT’s full-year FFO per share stands at $1.50, being revised upward by 4.2% over the past two months.

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.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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