Fitch Ratings has published its REIT Report Quarterly for fourth-quarter 2015, which highlights research during the past quarter.

On Dec. 8, 2015, Fitch stated that better portfolio strategies and management, lower risk external growth strategies and generally more conservative financial policies have enhanced credit profiles and will lead to a continuing positive sector outlook for U.S. Equity REITs in 2016. The stable rating outlook for the sector for 2016 reflects expectations of good property-level fundamentals across nearly all asset classes and relatively unchanged leverage profiles.

On Dec. 8, 2015, Fitch stated that sectorwide liquidity coverage showed improvement for U.S. equity REITs. The median liquidity coverage ratio for select U.S. equity REITs is 1.6x for the Oct. 1, 2015-Dec. 31, 2017 period, compared with 1.4x for the same period last year. Coverage for four of the five major property types improved from the prior comparable timeframe, with retail being the lone exception. Despite these positive elements, the public unsecured bond market has become choppier in recent months, and REITs have responded with a heavier reliance on revolving lines of credit.

On Dec. 7, 2015, Fitch stated that persistent discounted equity valuations for most companies have prompted REITs to favor property dispositions over share issuance in their investment funding strategies. Fitch expects asset sales to remain a hot topic for the foreseeable future given the arbitrage between private and public market real estate values. The recent 11% net asset value (NAV) discount for public REIT shares has revived the popular slogan that real estate is cheaper on Wall Street than Main Street.

Other items in this edition of Fitch's 'REIT Report Quarterly' include:

--An overview of recent rating actions;

--Summaries of recently published REIT reports and criteria;

--Links to recent Fitch research.

'REIT Report Quarterly' is available by clicking on the above link or at 'www.fitchratings.com' under the following headers:

Ratings and Research then Corporate Finance then REITs then Research

Additional information is available at 'www.fitchratings.com'.

REIT Report Quarterly (4Q15)

https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=875962

Related Research

2016 Outlook: U.S. Equity REITs (Capital Allocation and Access Critical)

https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=874335

3Q15 U.S. Equity REIT Liquidity: Modest Improvements

https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=874293

Asset Sales Replace Shares as Cheapest REIT Equity (What U.S. REITs Are Saying)

https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=874094

ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: HTTP://FITCHRATINGS.COM/UNDERSTANDINGCREDITRATINGS. IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON THE AGENCY'S PUBLIC WEBSITE 'WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM'. PUBLISHED RATINGS, CRITERIA AND METHODOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS SITE AT ALL TIMES. FITCH'S CODE OF CONDUCT, CONFIDENTIALITY, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, AFFILIATE FIREWALL, COMPLIANCE AND OTHER RELEVANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FROM THE 'CODE OF CONDUCT' SECTION OF THIS SITE. FITCH MAY HAVE PROVIDED ANOTHER PERMISSIBLE SERVICE TO THE RATED ENTITY OR ITS RELATED THIRD PARTIES. DETAILS OF THIS SERVICE FOR RATINGS FOR WHICH THE LEAD ANALYST IS BASED IN AN EU-REGISTERED ENTITY CAN BE FOUND ON THE ENTITY SUMMARY PAGE FOR THIS ISSUER ON THE FITCH WEBSITE.