Five Star Stock Watch: American Campus Communities

The company: American Campus Communities

Ticker Symbol: ACC

Sector: Financials

Industry: Residential REIT

American Campus Communities, Inc. is an independent equity real estate investment trust. The firm invests in the real estate markets of the United States. It primarily engages in developing, owning, and managing high-quality student housing communities.

The firm diversifies its functions across acquisition, design, financing, development, construction management, leasing and management of student housing properties. American Campus Communities, Inc. was formed in 1993 and is based in Austin, Texas.

Please take a look at the 1-year chart of ACC below with my added notations:

After a January to September sell-off, ACC has been trading sideways for the last 3 months. Over that period of time, the stock has formed a clear resistance level at $37. In addition, the stock has also created a good level of support at $33. These two levels combined have ACC stuck within a common chart pattern known as a rectangle, and at some point the stock will have to break one of those levels.

American Campus is not set to release quarterly earnings until February 2014.

No matter what your strategy, or when you decide to enter, always remember to use protective stops and you’ll be around for the next trade. Capital preservation is always key!