Top Financial Stocks To Watch Right Now

Top Financial Stocks To Watch Right Now: Whitestone REIT (WSR)

Whitestone REIT is a real estate investment trust (REIT) engaged in owning and operating commercial properties in culturally diverse markets in the metropolitan areas. The Company is internally managed and owns a real estate portfolio of 36 properties containing approximately three million square feet of leasable space, located in Texas, Arizona and Illinois. As of December 31, 2009, the Company had one property, which accounted for more than 10% of the total gross revenue and leasing of the properties. In December 2011, the Company announced that it had closed on the purchase of Phase I of Pinnacle of Scottsdale, a 113,108 square foot 100% leased Class A Community Center in North Scottsdale. In December 2011, it purchased shops at Starwood. In August 2012, the Company closed on the purchase of Paradise Plaza, a 125,898 square foot 100%-leased Community Center in Paradise Valley. In September 2012, the Company purchased Village Square at Dana Park, a 310,979 square foot Co mmunity Center located in the Mesa submarket of Phoenix, plus six developed pads (total of 2.9 acres) and the adjacent 4.7 acre parcel of development land to add another 200,000 square feet of leasable space. In December 2012, the Company closed on the off-market purchase of The Shops at Pecos Ranch. In April 2013, it closed on the off-market purchase of Headquarters Village, a 89,134 square foot (sf) Community Center located within the Preston Road retail corridor in Plano, Texas. Effective July 1, 2013, Whitestone REIT acquired Anthem Marketplace. In October 2013, Whitestone REIT completed the purchase of Fountain Hills Plaza, retail center in Fountain Hills, Arizona. In December 2013, Whitestone REIT purchased Market Street at DC Ranch in Scottsdale.

As of December 31, 2009, the Company owned a 64.7% interest in Whitestone REIT Operating Partnership, L.P. (t! he Operating Partnership). As of December 31, 2009, the Company owned a real estate portfolio consistin g of 36 properties located in three states. As of December 3! 1, 2009, the occupancy rate at the operating properties was 82% based on leasable square footage.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Reuben Brewer]

  And, sometimes, being small is actually a good thing. Take, for example, Whitestone REIT (NYSE: WSR  ) . This company operates a portfolio of roughly 60 properties in Texas, Arizona, and Illinois. That said, it only has one property in Illinois, so it's really focused around just two markets.

• [By Charles Sizemore]

  Returning to U.S. shores, the next of our monthly dividend stocks is Whitestone REIT (WSR), a smaller REIT that specializes in shopping centers.

  I should start by making one point very clear: while I like Whitestone, it is a very different kind of REIT than Realty Income or American Realty Capital Properties. Its property portfolio is far less geographically diversified (with properties in just three states), and it is a much smaller company by market cap ($290 million).

source from Top Stocks For 2015:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-financial-stocks-to-watch-right-now-3.html