REIT Labeled 'Bear of the Day'

Zacks Equity Research, Chicago, announced Oct. 29 that Liberty Property Trust, Malvern, Pa., had been designated its "Bear of the Day," a stock expected to underperform the markets over the next three to six months.Zacks said the commercial real estate investment trust "paid a steep price" to get into the Washington, D.C. office market with its acquisition of Republic Property Trust for over $900 million. The acquisition will be dilutive to earnings over the next several quarters, the research firm said. "We expect rental rates to remain flat through 2008, as the company has assets in office markets that still have high vacancies," Zacks said. "The company has a large development pipeline that is only 41% pre-leased, which poses a real risk if the economy softens in 2008." Zacks can be found online at http://www.zacks.com, and Liberty Property Trust can be found at http://www.libertyproperty.com.