For real estate stock Centerspace (NYSE:CSR), a recent move toward more affordable real estate is proving a welcome development. Sufficiently so that analysts are starting to change their minds—and their ratings—accordingly. The effects are limited right now, but Centerspace is still up fractionally in Monday morning’s trading session.
Compass Point, via analyst Merrill Ross, bumped Centerspace up from Neutral to Buy, thanks to Centerspace’s exposure to the rental housing market. Since Centerspace specializes in apartments, that makes it particularly attractive in a market where housing prices are wildly inflated thanks to a combination of short supply and, of course, rampant inflation.
However, not all of its housing is budget housing. It just picked up Lake Vista Apartment Homes in Fort Collins, Colorado, for $94.5 million. Home to 303 individual homes on a combined total of 16 acres, it’s not only immediately adjacent to the UCHealth Medical Center of the Rockies but also to the Centerra planned community, which boasts a wide range of retail shops, restaurants, and other employers as well. That makes it a pretty attractive package for some folks and likely means a good return on investment for Centerspace.
Is Centerspace a Buy, Hold, or Sell?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on CSR stock based on three Buys and four Holds assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. Furthermore, the average CSR price target of $63.71 per share implies 25.24% upside potential.
