Education Realty's (EDR) Debt Rating Upgraded By Moody's
Zacks Investment Research | Sep 06, 2017 10:01PM ET
Education Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EDR) — better known as EdR — announced that its senior unsecured debt and shelf ratings have been upgraded by a notch from Baa3 to Baa2 by Moody's Investor Services (Moody's). The rating agency also upgraded EdR’s preferred equity shelf rating from Ba1 to Baa3.
Nonetheless, Moody’s maintained its outlook.
This move highlights EdR’s presence as a pre-eminent student housing REIT in the United States. Citing the company’s solid credit profile, impressive balance sheet and a large pool of unencumbered assets, Moody’s recognized its high liquidity position. This will enable EdR to pursue its growth plans and settle any short-term obligations on time.
As of Jun 30, 2017, the company had cash and cash equivalents of $33.5 million and outstanding indebtedness of $809.2 million. Moreover, all, except one of its communities, were unencumbered.
Notably, this rating upgrade enhances the company’s creditworthiness in the market and is likely to boost investors’ confidence in the stock. In fact, such moves provide companies an opportunity to enjoy reduced costs on debts and better access to capital. In addition, EdR has a debt-equity ratio of 0.46, relatively lower than its industry’s 0.95.
EdR has a low-levered balance sheet which indicates its efficiency in capital management and allocation. Per management, the latest upgrade will also support the company’s extensive development pipeline and help it tap other growth opportunities.
Recently, EdR completed and successfully delivered Sycamore Suites — the new on-campus residence hall of East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania.
Shares of this Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) company have lost 7.4%, while the Zacks Investment Research
Get The News You Want
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.