WRE - Raymond James downgrades Washington REIT to Market Perform stock slides

elxeneize/iStock via Getty Images Washington REIT (WRE) stock drops 4.0% as Raymond James analyst William Crow downgrades Washington REIT (WRE) to Market Perform from Outperform. With the REIT selling its office portfolio faster than Crow expected for $766M, WRE's focus will solely be on on the multifamily sector. Crow notes in the report, "this move creates a way forward for shareholders and will result in an investment grade, workforce housing REIT focused on larger, higher growth secondary submarkets in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast." Estimates and dividends are expected to decline, and "some turnover in the shareholder base," Crow says, affecting the near-term performance of the stock. The Market Perform rating agrees with the Neutral quant rating and the Neutral Wall St. analysts rating but contrasts with the sole SA author rating of Bullish. The chart below shows WRE and the S&P 500 SPDR Select ETF's (SPY) total return on a year-to-date basis. See why SA contributor Gen

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Raymond James downgrades Washington REIT to Market Perform, stock slides