Zacks Equity Research, Chicago, announced Monday that it had made Equity Office Properties Trust its "Bear of the Day" -- a stock expected to underperform the markets over the next three to six months -- for July 17.Zacks said the Chicago-based real estate investment trust continued to experience poor operations in the first quarter, with large rent rolldowns, low (but rising) occupancies, and high capital expenditures. "Earnings will continue to suffer dilution through dispositions, as the company cannot replace lost income fast enough," Zacks said. The company said there are better office REIT alternatives with safer dividends, but added that "we are starting to see improving fundamentals in some of the company's key markets." Zacks can be found online at http://www.zacks.com, and the REIT can be found at http://www.equityoffice.com.
