• Sabra Trims Forecast, Tempering a Solid Quarter

    Sabra Health Care REIT, Inc. announced several acquisitions in its third quarter results. The REIT acquired six managed seniors housing properties for $217.5 million with an estimated initial cash yield of 7.8%, three of which were acquired through a consolidated joint venture in which Sabra has a 95% equity interest. The company also purchased... Read More »
  • CareTrust’s Flurry of Acquisitions

    CareTrust REIT, Inc. closed a series of transactions totaling approximately $437 million in late October. In two separate deals, the REIT acquired 12 skilled nursing facilities and one skilled nursing campus located across the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic. The combined portfolio includes approximately 1,760 licensed skilled nursing beds and... Read More »
  • Ensign Adds to Its Utah and Alabama Footprint

    The Ensign Group, Inc. kicked off November with a couple of new deals. The publicly traded company acquired the real estate and operations of the following seven Stonehedge skilled nursing facilities in Utah: Stonehenge of American Fork (90 beds in American Fork) Stonehenge of Cedar City (50 beds in Cedar City) Stonehenge of Ogden (52 beds in... Read More »
  • Joint Venture Makes Its First Acquisition

    A joint venture between Capitol Seniors Housing and a global alternative asset manager with over $55 billion in assets under management worldwide acquired The Woods at Merrimack, a 140-unit seniors housing community in Methuen, Massachusetts. This is the first deal between CSH and the asset manager but marks the beginning of a long-term... Read More »
  • Michigan-Based Owner/Operator Buys Lansing Campus

    A public REIT engaged Blueprint in the confidential divestiture of a 53-unit assisted living and memory care campus in Lansing, Michigan. The campus features two standalone buildings separately catering to assisted living residents and those requiring memory care. The well-maintained campus was originally built in 1997 and consisted of 19... Read More »
Avoiding The MAC Clause?

Avoiding The MAC Clause?

Last week, we were surprised to hear that a few companies quickly drew down on their revolving lines of credit. In the case of Ventas, the amount was $2.75 billion and they withdrew 2020 earnings guidance as well. For Brookdale Senior Living, they did a full drawdown of an unspecified amount, and also withdrew their 2020 earnings guidance. Omega Healthcare Investors drew down $300 million. Mostly, these were stated to be for precautionary and future liquidity reasons.   We were a little surprised that a few more companies did not withdraw 2020 guidance, but perhaps they are not at risk as much as Brookdale and Ventas with the seniors housing uncertainty and... Read More »
Senior Living Investment Brokerage’s Brookdale Sale

Senior Living Investment Brokerage’s Brookdale Sale

Sales are still getting done at Senior Living Investment Brokerage, with Brad Clousing, Jeff Binder and Patrick Burke handling the sale of a 78-unit assisted living community in Northport, Alabama. In 2019, Mr. Clousing had also sold a 161-bed skilled nursing facility in Northport, so we’re sure that experience helped in this transaction.  Built in 1999, the community is situated on about four acres along the Black Warrior River near Tuscaloosa. In addition to the 68 assisted living units, it includes 10 units and 16 beds of memory care. A Mid-Atlantic-based owner/operator bought the community, its second in the state of Alabama, and plans to invest in physical plant... Read More »
Collapse of Brookdale and Capital Senior Living Continues

Collapse of Brookdale and Capital Senior Living Continues

We are officially in unchartered territory. It is now quite embarrassing that we stated two years ago, as Brookdale Senior Living’s share price dropped below $10, that it had reached a floor. Yes, hindsight is 20/20, but we don’t know anyone who really predicted how drastic it has actually become for senior living stocks. The question is, what to do now? The second question is, will it get worse?  The day-to-day volatility in the stock markets is unprecedented. The day-to-day declines in values in our sector are even more unprecedented. It seems that when the major indices drop by 10%, our sector, including the REITs, drops by 20%. It is a magnification of the worries brought on by the... Read More »
From the Front Lines at NIC

From the Front Lines at NIC

As the hordes descended on San Diego for the Spring NIC conference, we soon learned that hotel rooms suddenly became available at the last minute. Why? Cancelations and no shows, perhaps 10% to 15%, as fears of the coronavirus spread. Larger conferences in the next several weeks have been canceled. For those of us braving the unknown, it was business as usual, elbow bumps instead of handshakes, and no problem finding meeting space in the networking lounge. Obviously, the biggest topic of conversation was the coronavirus, the potential impact on the economy in general, and specifically whether it would be a huge problem for the senior living sector. The worry was that if there were more... Read More »
Brookdale’s Stock Surges

Brookdale’s Stock Surges

There will be a time when we don’t wait to see what Brookdale Senior Living has done each quarter and use it as a barometer for the industry, but that time is not yet here. Brookdale did not report any surprises for the fourth quarter, which in the environment of the past several years is good news because surprises have generally been negative. What they did report is that they have basically started their rise from the bottom, even though the rise will be too slow for many shareholders.  First off, same-community occupancy increased 30 basis points sequentially and posted an increase for the second straight quarter. Occupancy was also 110 basis points higher than the... Read More »