UPDATE: J.P. Morgan Reiterates Neutral Rating, $114 PT on Federal Realty Investment Trust Following 1Q FFO Report

In a report published Thursday, J.P. Morgan analyst Michael W. Mueller reiterated a Neutral rating and $114.00 price target on Federal Realty Investment Trust

. In the report, Mueller noted, “After markets closed on Wednesday, Federal reported FFO/share of $1.14, $0.02 above our estimate and the Bloomberg consensus. In addition, the company raised guidance by $0.01-0.02 at the midpoint to $4.55 - $4.59 to reflect the company's Darien, CT acquisition for $47.3 million and recent upgrade from S&P which would lower the company's borrowing costs. In conjunction with the upgrade, the borrowing spread on their LOC was lowered from L + 115 bps to L + 90 bps. Our current estimate of $4.59 sits at the high end of this guidance range. Core metrics were strong with SS NOI increasing 3.2% (excl. the impact of redevelopments) YOY driven by improvements in SS occupancy as well as strong leasing spreads. FRT continues to progress through its development/redevelopment pipeline which represents about a $570 million investment (~6% total market cap) over the next three years. We expect the focal points on tomorrow's call to be on development leasing progress.” Federal Realty Investment Trust closed on Wednesday at $115.78.