Every day, the sun rises on Wall Street, and a plethora of
professional analysts wake to issue new opinions on stocks.
Here at the Fool, we use our "This Just In" column to examine
some of these picks -- and
the track recordsof the companies behind them -- so
individuals can make better investing decisions.
In addition to following professional banks, anyone can
use
Motley Fool CAPSto monitor the collective opinions of
more than 140,000 members, many of whom
demonstrate better investing insight than published analysts
do.
After spending several months earlier this year stuck at a
three-star
rank, enough top-performing CAPS members have turned
bullish on
NorthStar Realty Finance (NYSE: NRF) recently
to upgrade it to a more formidable
four
stars. A total of 547 members have given their opinion on
NorthStar Realty Finance, with many of them offering analysis
and commentary explaining the recent optimism.
It's no surprise that the words "real estate" and
"finance" scare many investors these days, especially
following a financial meltdown that saw companies like
AIG (NYSE: AIG),
Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM), and
Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE)
require life supportfrom the federal government. But even
as investors acknowledge the risk involved with stocks like
NorthStar and
iStar Financial (NYSE: SFI), some are
beginning to believe that NorthStar will hold up well and
benefit from an eventual recoveryin the sector.
The real estate investment trust invests in commercial
real estate debt and securities and acquires properties that
are net leased to corporate tenants such as
Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT). It aggressively
managed its credit risk and liquidity early on in the
recession to help minimize the effects of the downturn, and
though challenges remain ahead, it boosted its liquidity in
the second quarter to help it ride out the storm. NorthStar
even predicts that it may be able to acquire more assets at
discount prices, as the government sheds assets from failed
banks, and healthy banks sell written-down assets.
Shareholders continue to enjoy NorthStar's dividends like
the monster yieldof
Annaly Capital (NYSE: NLY), and CAPS members
like that management is also invested in a sizeable piece of
the common equity.
Do you think NorthStar Realty Finance deserves its star
bump? Add your thoughts in the comments box below, or head
over to CAPS to
rate it
yourselfand check out all the information and opinions
the community offers. CAPS is totally free.
This article was originally published as
A Big Upgrade for NorthStar Realty Financeon
Fool.com
Copyright 2009 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights
reserved.
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