Duke Boosts Medical Office Portfolio (DRE) (HIW)

Zacks

Duke Realty Corp.’s (DRE) investment affiliate, Dr Clifton Mob Llc, recently acquired a medical office building in Clifton, Ohio for $10.6 million from Gs Ohio Pob, Llc., according to a Cincinnati Business Courier report. The move enhances the company’s medical office portfolio.

Gs Ohio had bought the building nine years ago for $8.2 million. It spans 68,000 square feet and is linked to the Good Samaritan hospital. The hospital is the oldest and largest private teaching and specialty healthcare facility in Ohio. Moreover, Duke Realty has been developing several medical office buildings at the hospital's Western Ridge medical center in Green Township.

Lately, Duke Realty has been focusing on acquiring medical office buildings in the core U.S. markets. Last month, the company acquired 14 medical office buildings spanning 1.2 million square feet from Seavest Healthcare Properties Llc in Fairfax. In addition, it acquired seven fully leased buildings spanning 334,000 square feet from Harbin Clinic Llc in Georgia.

Duke Realty is one of the largest commercial real estate companies in the U.S., operating as a fully integrated owner, manager, and developer of industrial, office, and healthcare properties. For over 35 years, the company has leveraged its local presence and integrated platform to drive returns besides establishing itself as a premier publicly traded real estate developer in the country. The recent strategic acquisitions also augur well and likely to add to its top line going forward.

Duke Realty is expected to release its fourth-quarter 2012 results on January 21, 2013. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fourth quarter FFO (fund from operations) is currently pegged at 26 cents per share.

Duke Realty, which competes with Highwoods Properties Inc. (HIW), currently has a Zacks #3 Rank (implying a short-term Hold rating). We also maintain our long-term ‘Neutral’ recommendation on the stock.

Note: FFO, a widely accepted and reported measure of the performance of REITs is derived by adding depreciation, amortization and other non-cash expenses to net income.

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