NEW YORK – After outpacing the S&P 500 Index for the duration of the bull market, real estate investment trusts may be getting ahead of themselves.
Among 172 REITs in the Russell 3000 Index with at least five analyst ratings, 76 are trading at prices above average targets, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. At the same time, a Standard & Poor’s index of REITs in January traded above analysts’ target for the first time since May 2013. The last time that happened, the gauge underperformed the S&P 500 by 13 percent in the following three months.
The REIT index has provided a total return of 164 percent in the past five years, compared with 102 percent for the S&P 500. The gauge hasn’t had a correction, or decline of 10 percent, since a three-month slide that began in May 2013, the last time it surpassed analysts’ target.
