IYR Stock Recent News

With recent volatility, we have a new name to make the discussion this month, as well as a few names we don't see as often. This monthly screening focuses on dividend safety, growth, and consistency, narrowing down the universe of potentially attractive investments. This is only an initial screening to gather some potential ideas, and before making any investment decision, a deeper dive is required.

Share prices for US equity real estate investment trusts lost ground alongside the broader market during the week ending May 9. The Dow Jones Equity All REIT closed the recent week down 0.61%, while the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average logged declines of 0.47% and 0.16%, respectively. Among the Dow Jones US real estate property sector indexes, the apartment REIT index fell the furthest this past week, down 2.94%.

The Dow Jones Equity All REIT index closed the recent week up 3.31%, compared with a 2.92% increase for the S&P 500 and a 3.00% gain for the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The self-storage REIT index jumped 5.63% during the week, the largest increase of the group. Industrial REIT Industrial Logistics Properties Trust saw the largest share-price increase among all US REITs with at least $200 million in market capitalization, up 16.29%.

US equity markets erased their post-Liberation Day sell-off this week - notching their best winning streak in two decades - as investors parsed surprisingly solid corporate earnings and employment data. A critical slate of employment data this week showed that job growth remained relatively strong in April, despite the extreme market volatility and plunge in consumer and business sentiment. The PCE Index - the Federal Reserve's preferred gauge of inflation - cooled to the lowest-level in almost five years, swinging the market narrative from "stagflation" and back towards "soft landing."

US equity markets resumed their recovery this week from the "liberation day" plunge after the White House negotiated trade deals with several nations and indicated plans to ease China tariffs. Trimming its drawdown to around 10% from its mid-February highs, the S&P 500 rallied 4.6% this week - erasing an early-week dip with four-straight days of gains. After posting significant outperformance last week, real estate equities were among the laggards this week despite a solid start to REIT earnings season and a much-needed retreat in benchmark rates.

REITs finished the first quarter of 2025 in the red (-3.36%) with a brutal -4.92% average total return in March. Large cap (-2.04%) and mid cap REITs (-2.63%) saw modest losses, but small caps (-4.16%) and micro caps (-16.19%) had a particularly bad month. Only 29.49% of REIT securities had a positive total return in March.

A notable defensive rotation is underway this year, benefitting REIT stocks. The recipe that makes REITs a compelling investment today already contains two important ingredients – cheap valuations and positive fundamentals. With a macro backdrop starting to wobble, it's important to realize the steady, durable earnings that REITs offer.

Since 2000, annual returns of international equities have been better than those of the U.S. only nine times. As concerns grow about the impact of tariffs on the economy and uncertainty looms, market participants appear to be reducing their weight in the U.S. Amid geopolitical tensions and evolving trade policies, international equities from developed markets in 2025 have outperformed the U.S. YTD, as some market participants are turning their focus to other geographies.

US equity markets fluctuated wildly in a tumultuous week - ultimately ending with the best weekly gains since November 2023 - after the White House announced a delay on the most "reciprocal" tariffs. Following several days of extreme volatility in which tremors of instability were felt across global markets, investors exhaled as the Administration's tariff messaging pivoted from "retribution" and "score-settling" to dealmaking. Government bond markets were in focus throughout the week as the 10-Year Treasury experienced significant and still-unexplained weakness, failing to act as typical "safe havens" during the market plunge.

Equities rallied on Wednesday after Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause on retaliatory tariffs, excluding China. 10-year Treasury yields have increased high amid fears of sticky inflation. The Federal Reserve has signalled that it will lower interest rates until the impact of tariffs is clearer. Offering dividend yields as high as 8.1% and an average forward dividend yield of 5.7%, SA Quant has identified five income-generating REITs with strong dividend safety characteristics and positive factor.