Bank of America Initiates Coverage of Excel Trust with at Neutral Rating and $12.50 PO

Bank of America has initiated coverage of Excel Trust Inc.

at Neutral rating and $12.50 price objective. Bank of America noted, "We initiate coverage on Excel Trust Inc. (EXL) with a Buy rating and a $12.50 price objective. EXL's portfolio of shopping center assets primarily consists of big, multi-anchor community and smaller neighborhood centers located in the Northwest, Northeast and Sunbelt regions. EXL's portfolio demographics rank the in the bottom third of shopping center REITs. Within REITs* we are equal weight the shopping center sector and prefer higher quality portfolios with multi-anchor centers, high densities, and less exposure to small shop space. A 5.5% dividend yield and 6.2% upside implied by our price objective suggest an 11.7% total potential return. We initiate at Neutral." Excel Trust closed at $11.77 on Thursday.