Changes to S&P Indices Affect Several RE Stocks

A number of real estate-related stocks have been affected by changes to several Standard & Poor's indices that are scheduled to go into effect after the close of trading on March 3. Being removed from the S&P MidCap 400 are Hovnanian Enterprises Inc., Red Bank, N.J., and The PMI Group Inc., Walnut Creek, Calif. At the close of trading on Feb. 24, S&P said, "Hovnanian and PMI Group had market capitalizations of $74 million and $64 million, respectively, whereas the minimum market cap needed to be admitted to the S&P MidCap 400 index is currently $750 million." Ventas, a health care real estate investment trust headquartered in Chicago, will be added to the S&P 500 in the GICS Specialized REITs Sub-Industry index. Trustmark Corp., a Jackson, Miss.-based financial services company, will replace Hormel Foods in the S&P MidCap 400, as Hormel is being moved to the S&P 500. Anchor BanCorp Wisconsin Inc., Madison, Wis., is being dropped from the S&P SmallCap 600, because it had a $19 million market cap, whereas the minimum market cap for this index is currently $200 million.