Top 5 Beaten-Down REITs Ready for a Rotation Rally

3. Rexford Industrial Realty, Inc. (NYSE:REXR)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 39

Year-To-Date Performance: -12.11%

Stock Upside: 17.54%

Rexford Industrial Realty, Inc. (NYSE:REXR) is one of the top beaten-down REITs ready for a rotation rally. On June 18, Scotiabank analyst Greg McGinniss upgraded Rexford Industrial Realty, Inc. (NYSE:REXR) to Outperform from Sector Perform, while trimming the price target to $36 from $38.

On why he upgraded the rating but cut the target price, McGinniss explained that his firm believes the stock’s valuation has now caught up with the company’s challenging funds from operations growth story tied to the Southern California industrial market. In other words, much of the bad news is already reflected in the share price. Put simply, Scotiabank’s reasoning is that most of the downside risk in Rexford’s stock has already played out, and that this leaves the firm more comfortable turning positive even without raising its price target.

The analyst also pointed to Rexford’s own efforts to close the gap between its public market valuation and the value of its properties in private markets. He noted that the company has been buying back its own shares as a way to address that mismatch. McGinniss views these buybacks as a signal that Rexford management sees its stock as undervalued relative to its real estate holdings, and he suggested this could mark the beginning of a stabilization phase for the shares.

Rexford Industrial Realty, Inc. (NYSE:REXR) is a real estate investment trust. It invests in, operates, and repositions industrial properties throughout Southern California, the world’s fourth largest industrial market.