Franklin Leases to Cassidy Turley - Analyst Blog

A real estate investment trust (REIT), Franklin Street Properties Corp. (FSP), recently announced that it has inked a deal with Cassidy Turley to lease a Class-A office space property, Timberlake Corporate Center. The financial terms of the agreement were not divulged.

Timberlake Corporate Center is located in the suburban area of Chesterfield, MO and comprises three buildings at 1350, 1370 and 1390 Timberlake Manor Parkway spanning a total 348,963 square feet.

The property is currently 95% leased and boasts of some world class tenants like Reinsurance Group of America Inc. (RGA), Amdocs Ltd. (DOX), Quest Software Inc. (QSFT), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) and others. As per the agreement, Cassidy Turley will manage Timberlake Corporate Center on behalf of Franklin Street.

Cassidy Turley is a leading commercial real estate services provider in U.S. which serves corporate, institutional and private clients by providing various integrated commercial real estate services. The company has completed 17,000 leases and 1,900 sales transactions till date and manages over 455 million square feet on behalf of its client. Cassidy Turley is also active on providing its clients, access to commercial real estate professionals through a partnership with GVA.

We believe Franklin Street will benefit from the agreement as it is likely to increase the company’s rental revenue in the coming quarters. Moreover, looking at the successful track record of Cassidy Turley, we are hopeful on the long-term prospects of the agreement.

Franklin Street recently reported first quarter 2012 funds from operations (FFO) of 24 cents per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny. The Zacks Consensus Estimates for 2012 and 2013 are pegged at 92 cents and 93 cents, respectively, representing an annual growth of 6.03% and 0.54%.

Wakefield, Massachusetts-based Franklin Street provides real estate and investment banking/investment services across United States. The company’s Real Estate Operations segment engages in leasing, rental operations related to real estate, property acquisitions, dispositions, etc. As of March 31, 2012, Franklin Street has a total of 52 owned, investment & managed properties spanning more than 12 million square feet.

We have a Neutral recommendation on Franklin Street, which currently has a Zacks #3 Rank, translating into a short-term Hold rating. However, we have an Outperform recommendation and a Zacks #1 Rank (short-term Strong Buy rating) for Winthrop Realty Trust (FUR), one of the competitors of Franklin Street.

AMDOCS LTD (DOX): Free Stock Analysis Report

FRANKLIN ST PPT (FSP): Free Stock Analysis Report

WINTHROP REALTY (FUR): Free Stock Analysis Report

JPMORGAN CHASE (JPM): Free Stock Analysis Report

QUEST SOFTWARE (QSFT): Free Stock Analysis Report

REINSURANCE GRP (RGA): Free Stock Analysis Report

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