Liberty Property Trust (LPT - Free Report) , the Malvern, PA-based real estate investment trust (REIT) has announced that it will develop a build-to-suit project for STIHL Southeast, Inc., at Liberty Park at AIPO in Orlando. Notably, STIHL Southeast, Inc. is the exclusive distributor of STIHL outdoor power equipment for Florida, Georgia, Alabama and portions of the Caribbean. The deal is likely to be accretive for Liberty Property going forward.

Currently, STIHL Southeast is a long-term tenant of Liberty Property at 2304 West Taft Vineland Road, a 75,000-square-foot building. The huge growth of independent servicing dealer network has necessitated the requirement of a larger distribution center. Close association with Liberty Property, has prompted STIHL Southeast roping in the REIT again for this project.

The 154,400-square-foot center will be situated in Tradeport Drive. STIHL Southeast has inked a long-term lease for the multi-use facility. This will include around 20,000 square feet of office space and a 25,000-square-foot climate-controlled order assembly area. The remaining area will be utilized for warehouse and distribution.

Currently, Liberty Property carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Shares of Liberty Property underperformed the Zacks categorized REIT and Equity Trust Other industry over the past three months. During that time frame, shares of the company lost 4.5%, whereas the industry gained 2.9%. Investors interested in the REIT and Equity Trust Other industry, may consider stocks like Global Net Lease, Inc. (GNL - Free Report) , CoreSite Realty Corporation (COR - Free Report) and CorEnergy Infrastructure Trust, Inc. (CORR - Free Report) . All these stocks carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here.

In the last 30 days, Global Net Leases funds from operations (FFO) per share for first-quarter 2017 escalated 11.1% to 60 cents.

In the last 30 days, CoreSite Realtys FFO per share for first-quarter 2017 increased 5% to $1.06.

CorEnergy Infrastructure Trust first-quarter 2017 FFO per share estimates moved up 4.7% to $1.12, in the last 30 days.

Note: FFO, a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs, is obtained after adding depreciation and amortization and other non-cash expenses to net income. All EPS numbers presented in this write up represent FFO per share.

8 Stocks with Huge Profit Potential

Just released: Driverless Cars: Your Roadmap to Mega-Profits Today. In this latest Special Report, Zacks Aggressive Growth Strategist Brian Bolan explores a full-blown technological breakthrough in the making autonomous cars. He also spotlights 8 stocks with tremendous gain potential to feed off this phenomenon. Click to see the stocks right now >>

View post:

Liberty Property to Develop Distribution Center for STIHL - Zacks.com