UPDATE: Stifel Downgrades Washington Real Estate Investment Trust As Republican Congress Puts Brakes On Recovery

In a report published Tuesday, Stifel analyst John Guinee downgraded the rating on

from Buy to Hold, and removed the $29.00 price target. In the report, Stifel noted, “We are downgrading Washington REIT to Hold from Buy as the soon to be Republican controlled Congress is promising a smaller budget, a smaller Federal Government footprint, and decisions being pushed to the state level. We think the painfully slow office recovery in the greater Washington, D.C. MSA will pause; perhaps for years. The Washington, D.C.-centric REITs we cover all appear to be in the same situation. The private market investors take a 5-10 year perspective and are aggressively underwriting core and core plus assets, while the public markets take a more short-term quarterly view.” Washington Real Estate Investment Trust closed on Monday at $27.70.