Why Federal Realty Is My Favorite Shopping Center REIT

Real estate investment trust (REIT) Federal Realty (NYSE: FRT) just bought a shopping center in Virginia. The property is 83% leased, but the Federal Realty says it has big plans for adding value to the asset, which is the core of its approach -- and the reason this landlord is one of the best shopping center REITs in the business. Here's a closer look at why I own this REIT.

Federal Realty has a market capitalization of around $8.7 billion. That's sizable, given that it only owns around 100 properties. For comparison, Brixmor Property Group has a $6.6 billion market cap and owns roughly 390 shopping centers, and Kimco has a roughly $9 billion market cap and just shy of 400 properties. Kimco, notably, just agreed to buy $4 billion market cap Weingarten and its nearly 190-property portfolio. Notice the trend here: Federal Realty owns a relatively small number of properties, and yet its market cap is quite large in comparison to peers.

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Source Fool.com