Plymouth Industrial REIT PLYM recently announced its activity update for the first quarter of 2025, highlighting healthy leasing activity and strategic portfolio expansion. The industrial REIT addressed 56.3% of its 2025 lease expirations.

Leases commencing during the first quarter totaled 2,437,267 square feet, all with terms of at least six months. This healthy leasing activity consisted of both renewal and new leases, with 1,540,756 square feet of renewal leases and 896,511 square feet of new leases. The overall rental rates under these leases marked a 9.6% increase on a cash basis. 

As of March 31, 2025, the company's total portfolio occupancy stood at 94.3%. This reflects a 210-basis point (bps) positive impact from the St. Louis lease, a 45-bps positive impact from leasing in Cleveland, a 15-bps positive impact from acquisitions in Cincinnati and Atlanta markets and a net 70-bps negative impact from other leasing activity in the quarter. Same-store occupancy as of the same date was 94.7%.

Executed leases scheduled to commence in 2025 aggregated to 4,652,684 square feet. All of these leases are associated with a period of at least six months. Representing 56.3% of total 2025 expirations, these leases comprised 3,731,230 square feet of renewal leases and 921,454 square feet of new leases, of which 740,487 square feet remained unoccupied at the beginning of 2025. The overall rental rates from these leases reflect a 12.1% increase on a cash basis, with 1.7% for new leases, illustrating management's proactive approach to securing future revenue streams.

In a strategic move, Plymouth expanded its portfolio with the acquisition of six industrial buildings for $65.1 million, equating to a weighted average initial estimated net operating income (NOI) yield of 6.8%. Collectively, these fully leased properties have a weighted average remaining lease term of 4.4 years. These properties, located in Cincinnati, OH and Atlanta, GA, bolster Plymouth’s presence in high-demand markets and contribute to stable income streams.

Final Thoughts on PLYM

Plymouth, with its healthy leasing activity and strategic acquisitions, is well-positioned to benefit over the long term. However, macroeconomic uncertainties and tariff issues remain a major concern in the near term.

PLYM's upcoming first-quarter earnings release on May 1, after market close, and a conference call on May 2 are events that investors should keep an eye on for further insights into its financial performance and strategic outlook.

Shares of Plymouth, currently carrying a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell), have declined 17.8% in the past three months compared with the industry’s fall of 0.8%.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Stocks to Consider

Some better-ranked stocks from the broader REIT sector are Welltower Inc. WELL and Cousins Properties Incorporated CUZ. Welltower and Cousins Properties carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) each at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Welltower’s 2025 FFO per share is pegged at $4.93, which indicates year-over-year growth of 14.1%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Cousins’ 2025 FFO per share is pegged at $2.79, which implies a year-over-year increase of 3.7%.

Note: Anything related to earnings presented in this write-up represent funds from operations (FFO) — a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

Cousins Properties Incorporated (CUZ) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Plymouth Industrial REIT (PLYM) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Welltower Inc. (WELL) : Free Stock Analysis Report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research