S&P Adds REITs to Ranking System

Real estate investment trusts have been added to a group of more than 4,000 companies ranked according to a Standard & Poor's system that appraises the growth and stability of earnings and dividends.S&P's Earnings and Dividend Ranking System, or Quality Ranking, is a quantitative model that uses per-share earnings and dividend records over the most recent 10 years. The rating agency said REITs were added to the companies ranked under the system in response to market demand. "REITs have not only outperformed the broader market for the past three years, but have posted positive total returns in each year," said Raymond Mathis, an S&P REITs equity analyst. "Despite softening fundamentals, the streak continued in the first quarter of 2003, with the S&P REIT Composite Index providing a positive total return of 0.72%, versus a 3.3% drop for the S&P Super Composite 1500." The S&P Quality Rankings range from A-plus through C; a D ranking indicates that a company is in reorganization. S&P can be found online at http://www.standardandpoors.com.