Nov 2 (Reuters) - Regency Centers REG.O lifted annual forecast for core operating earnings on Thursday, buoyed by strong leasing demand at its grocery-anchored shopping malls.
Commercial real estate investments trusts (REITs) have benefited from contracting supply of rental spaces, which has helped them bump up rental rates, analysts have said.
Jacksonville-headquartered Regency expects core operating earnings per share between $3.93 and $3.95, compared with its earlier forecast of $3.89 and $3.93.
Regency closed its all-stock acquisition of fellow REIT Urstadt Biddle in August, as it looked to expand its footprint in suburban trade areas in the Northeast region of the United States.
The company had said the acquisition would be immediately accretive to its core corporate earnings.
The transaction comes amid a flurry of consolidation among REITs, with fellow grocery-anchored REIT Kimco Realty KIM.N also announcing its intent to acquire peer RPT Realty RPT.N this year.
Regency also lifted the lower end of its annual Nareit FFO forecast by two cents, and expects annual FFO between $4.13 and $4.15.
The company posted Nareit FFO of $1.02 per diluted share in the third-quarter ended Sept 30, in line with market expectations, as per LSEG data.
(Reporting by Juveria Tabassum; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)