REITs stocks rise in April amid active merger environment

U.S. REITs put in a strong performance in April, as a number of companies soared amid merger announcements. The FTSE Nareit Equity REITs Index advanced 8.1 percent in the month; year-to-date, the index is up 17.6 percent. By comparison, the S&P 500 Index rose 5.2 percent in April and 11.3 percent during the first four months of 2021.

By property type, the strongest performance in April was recorded by the self-storage sector, which advanced 13.2 percent. Public Storage, among the REITs with the strongest performances in April, rose 14 percent in the month. The self-storage REIT recently closed on its $1.8 billion acquisition of ezStorage Corp., gaining a 48-property portfolio of assets in the mid-Atlantic region.

Shopping center REITs turned in the second-best performance in April, with a gain of 11.9 percent. The segment was led by