Healthcare Realty Trust Replaces CEO As REIT Fails To See Boost From Market Rally
The CEO of Healthcare Realty Trust abruptly stepped down and left the board of directors as the REIT struggles against its publicly traded peers.
Todd Meredith will be replaced on an interim basis by current board member Constance Moore, effective immediately, the company announced Tuesday.
The REIT, which reported $12B in real estate assets at the end of the third quarter, has struggled despite a broader sector rebound. Healthcare REITs broadly have returned 28% this year though Oct. 15, while Healthcare Realty Trust returned 6.6%, according to a Seeking Alpha report.
“The Board of Directors of Healthcare Realty is committed to taking actions it believes will drive long-term shareholder value,” Moore said in a statement. “I look forward to executing on the Company’s strategic initiatives in my role as interim President and CEO.”
The change in top leadership comes after a September staff shakeup in which a new chief operating officer, chief investment officer and chief administrative officer were announced. An interim chief financial officer was also chosen to replace an outgoing executive.
Healthcare REITs have been among the top performers in the sector this year, behind only the specialty sectors like cannabis and billboards, according to Nareit.
But Healthcare Realty Trust lost $93M in the third quarter despite delivering a 7.2% dividend yield that is now threatened by a heavy debt load with upcoming maturities.
Its $5.2B in total debt includes a $250M senior note set to mature in May and a $100M term loan set to mature in July, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The REIT stock was up more than 2% in early trading after the announcement Tuesday. But its roughly $18 per share price tag is above the analyst's average forecast of $17.82.
Healthcare Realty Trust declined to provide additional comment about the staffing change to Bisnow Tuesday morning.
Moore first joined the company as part of its 2022 merger with Healthcare Trust of America in 2022 and served as the director of several property portfolios before taking on the interim CEO position. She was previously the CEO of BRE Properties, a REIT that merged with Essex Property Trust in 2014.
Meredith joined the company in 2001 before climbing to CEO in 2016, according to an archived version of his biography.
HRT's portfolio spans the U.S., with asset concentrations in Florida, Texas, New England and California. It owns roughly 660 properties totaling more than 38M SF, 93% of which are medical outpatient facilities.
The Nashville-based REIT recently sold at least one of its properties for a loss, trading a medical center in Boca Raton for $36M this month after acquiring the property for $50M in 2021.
Healthcare Realty Trust also rebuffed a $5B takeover bid in mid-2022 from Welltower, another REIT focused on medical properties.
