Cedar Plants Some Roots

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Is it time to shop for some Cedar Shopping Centers (NYSE: CDR) shares? This owner and operator of supermarket- and drugstore-anchored shopping centers sports a nice dividend yield, but growth was sluggish on a per-share basis in the first quarter.

For the quarter, revenue rose 21% to $36.2 million, and funds from operations (FFO) climbed 44% to $13.6 million. However, the weighted average share count increased 46%, which left FFO per share flat at $0.30 versus last year. Cedar also reiterated its full-year 2007 guidance of FFO, which would be a 3%-7% improvement over 2006 but a drop-off from the 17% and 13% growth in FFO per share that Cedar generated in 2006 and 2005. However, during that period, the percentage of Cedar's property that was leased increased from 88% to 93%. Naturally, the better Cedar performs, the less room there is for improvement. In that same vein, total occupancy was flat for Q1 compared with the previous quarter at 93%.

There are also some potential positive catalysts. In the latest quarter, base rent on rental renewals climbed 8%, which is partially offset by not having many leases up for renewal in the next couple of years. Credit quality is also healthy, with top tenants including Royal Ahold's Stop & Shop and Giant Foods, SUPERVALU (NYSE: SVU), and CVS (NYSE: CVS).  

Although the flat FFO per-share growth was a minor concern, Cedar has historically done well with its acquisitions and development projects, as indicated by historic growth rates. Right now, Cedar shares trade at an 8% forward FFO yield and 5.5% dividend yield, which is a pretty decent return for investors seeking yield without too much risk.

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Fool contributor Emil Lee is an analyst and a disciple of value investing. He doesn't own shares in any of the companies mentioned above. Emil appreciates your comments, concerns, and complaints. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.