UPDATE: Miller Tabak Reiterates Hold Rating, Names $22.62 PT on UDR

In a report published Monday, Miller Tabak + Co. reiterated its Hold rating on UDR UDR, and named a price target of $22.62. Miller Tabak noted, “We had expected much of UDR's 2013 growth potential to come from the NYC area, either in the form of redevelopment and refurbishment leading to sharp rent increases, or in the form of new acquisitions made in that metropolitan area. The serious damage done to UDR's lower Manhattan properties by Superstorm Sandy, appears to offer a wide range of potential impacts on UDR's growth trajectory in the NYC region -- ranging from speeding up rent enhancing renovations to reducing the long term demand for apartment rentals in lower Manhattan. We think it's too early to tell how these impacts will play out for UDR. Furthermore, UDR management has made it clear that they are averse to issuing new common stock at below NAV -- a policy that could mean UDR will forgo attractive deals if its stock price remains mired in the low-$20's for an extended period of time. Even though we believe UDR has a dynamic opportunity in its shift of investment into NYC, we can see how easy it may be for any potentially positive aggressive plans to be deferred or delayed until the impact of Sandy is no longer on UDR management's front burner. Consequently, at this time, we are reaffirming our ‘Hold' rating on UDR's stock. Once the final impact of the storm has been fully analyzed and publicized, we'll reconsider our rating.” UDR closed on Friday at $22.65.