Friday, July 25, 2014

Seeking Alpha: iStar Financial Still Worth The Hassle

iStar Financial (NYSE:STAR) is not a stock for beginners or casual investors. Its combination of real estate lending, net leasing, operating properties, and land development makes it a complex hybrid that incorporates aspects of companies like Cheung Kong (OTCPK:CHEUY), Forest City (FCE-A), and Lexington Realty Trust (NYSE:LXP). What's more, it's also a credit recovery and residential housing recovery story as the company continues to clean up legacy non-performing loans and underperforming assets while deploying new capital into projects.

To value iStar, I believe you have to be able to estimate the value of the real estate finance portfolio (loans and mortgages to real estate companies), the value of the net lease portfolio, the value of the operated portfolio, and the development potential of the land portfolio. This is, at best, a big headache for most investors. I believe the underlying potential is still worthwhile, with a fair value of around $18.50 on the basis of my estimated of economic book value, and there is upside from improving real estate markets and downside from a reversal in those markets and/or higher financing costs.

Please read the full article here:
iStar Financial Still Worth The Hassle

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