FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - French major bank Societe Generale (SocGen) is becoming more cautious on certain real estate companies and takes a gloomier view of the first half of 2023 in particular. The resulting double downgrade from "buy" to "sell" sent Aroundtown 's shares in the mid-cap MDax index tumbling by almost 6 percent. The shares thus slipped below the 21-day line for the first time since the start of the year. Their recovery in the general sector trend was thus again put a severe damper on.

Analyst Ben Richford gave direct preference to shares of Aroundtown holding Grand City Properties, but he also now sees these shares with more pessimism. The simple downgrade from "buy" to "hold" for the shares of the SDax company caused the paper in the small cap index a minus of about 2.5 percent. The stock fell below the 21-day and 100-day lines, two highly regarded indicator lines.

Overall, analyst Ben Richford downgraded nine international real estate investment trusts (REITS) in his study, including Aroundtown with the most striking reclassification. The German company counts the expert to the companies, around which one must worry qualitatively furthermore. The capital structure appears challenging given the recent increase in hybrid bond coupons.

In general, Richford advises against betting on stocks focused on retail, logistics or office properties. He doesn't see more opportunities for better-capitalized real estate investment trusts (REITS) until higher real estate yields return, according to his report available Wednesday. There should be more clarity in the second half of the year.

For other major German real estate stocks, meanwhile, he maintains his buy recommendation. He focuses on those with a focus on residential real estate and healthcare. Above all, he therefore counts Vonovia among his "top picks," but the share was unable to escape the general market weakness with a discount of 1.1 percent.

LEG and TAG Immobilien also remain buying opportunities in his eyes, but here too the shares fell by up to 0.9 percent. The real estate sector was on Wednesday on the stock market last about in line with the market with half a percent in the minus. The Dax moved at the same time with 0.4 percent below its previous day's level./tih/niw/stk