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National Post
a day ago
- Business
- National Post
Green Street Acquires College House, Expanding Property-Level Coverage into High-Growth U.S. Student Housing Sector
Article content NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — Green Street, the preeminent provider of commercial real estate intelligence and analytics in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Australia, today announced the acquisition of College House, a leading provider of property-level data and insights for the U.S. student housing sector. Founded in 2019, College House has built a strong reputation in a fragmented market by offering high-quality, timely, and deeply granular data. Article content The acquisition marks a significant milestone in Green Street's global growth strategy and its continued investment in delivering best-in-class, property-level data across real assets. College House enhances Green Street's robust data platform and deepens its U.S. presence by bringing unrivaled coverage of the fast-growing student housing market. Article content Article content 'Property-level data is foundational to Green Street's strategy,' said Jeff Stuek, CEO of Green Street. 'With the addition of College House, we've extended our leadership into student housing and enhanced our ability to deliver granular insights to our clients. Their best-in-class product is a strong fit for Green Street, and we are proud to join forces with their exceptional team. This acquisition aligns with our global growth strategy and accelerates our vision to provide the most comprehensive commercial real estate intelligence platform in the world.' Article content In the near term, College House expands Green Street's U.S. sector coverage with one of the most trusted sources of student housing data. Over time, it will serve as a strong foundation for the development of new sector-specific analytics, modeling, and benchmarks within Green Street's offering. Article content 'Joining Green Street marks an exciting new chapter for College House,' said Charlie Matthews, Founder of College House. 'Our focus has always been on delivering data transparency and depth to the student housing space. With Green Street's scale, resources, and expertise, we're excited to take our mission to the next level and bring even more powerful analytics and insights to the broader market.' Article content The combination of College House and Green Street platforms will drive deeper sector expertise, insights and analytics for both investors and operators in the Student Housing industry. Article content Green Street was advised by Kirkland & Ellis, LLP. College House was advised by Greenberg Taurig, LLP on the acquisition. Article content About Green Street Article content Green Street is a forward-thinking real assets company at the forefront of transforming the commercial real estate market with cutting-edge predictive analytics, data-driven insights, and actionable intelligence. With over 40 years of expertise, Green Street empowers investors, lenders, and stakeholders across the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Australia to make optimized investment and strategic decisions. Article content Article content Article content Article content Contacts Article content Media Contact: Article content Article content Article content Article content
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Chipotle CEO says there's ‘no smoking gun' for burrito sales dip—but he wants customers to give the chain more ‘credit' for affordable prices
CEO Scott Boatwright said the burrito chain needs to work on selling itself as a bargain brand for jittery, budget-strapped consumers. The company reported on Wednesday a 4% same-store quarterly sales decline and cut its guidance for the rest of the year, citing poor consumer sentiment and economic uncertainty. As more Americans grow anxious about the economy and start pulling back on eating out, CEO Scott Boatwright wants consumers to give Chipotle some more credit for its low prices. The Newport Beach, California-based burrito-bowl chain reported sagging earnings Wednesday, including a 4% same-store sales decline and 4.9% dip in quarterly traffic. While Chipotle saw a 3% total revenue increase to $3.1 billion, the company cut its guidance, now expecting flat same-store sales growth for the year compared to its previous prediction of a low single-digit increase. Chipotle CEO Scott Boatwright attributed the rough quarter—Chipotle's second consecutive sales decline—in part to rocky economic conditions leading consumers to pull back. Chipotle's same-store sales improved in June, and that's likely to be the case for July as well, according to the company, but lackluster sales in April and May correlated with 'consumer sentiment bottoming around that time.' Boatwright added consumers have seemingly forgotten that Chipotle, compared to its fast-casual rivals, is a bargain. 'I don't think we're getting credit with the consumer today,' Boatwright told investors on Wednesday. 'So what I talked to the team about internally is, How do we better communicate our value proposition and center around the core equities of the brand?' 'I think we've got to figure out a way we can communicate value for the consumer and showcase the value we are to [quick-service restaurants] and fast-casual,' he added. Boatwright claimed in the earnings presentation Chipotle is 20% to 30% cheaper than comparable fast-casual restaurants. He told Fortune in April the chain wouldn't increase prices due to tariffs because 'it's unfair to the consumer to pass those costs off…because pricing is permanent.' Changing perceptions of value The CEO was firm in attributing Chipotle's sales slump to external macroeconomic factors, telling investors, 'There's no smoking gun here that says we've had a misstep.' However, he said low-income consumers in particular are looking for value when choosing where to dine. 'Look no further than what's going on with our competitors with snack occasions or five-dollar meals, and that's where the consumer is drifting towards…because of low consumer sentiment.' Indeed, fast-food giants like McDonald's are continuing to offer meal deals amid softening sales, particularly as these restaurants have seen more traffic from high-income consumers while those on a budget pull away. As Chipotle similarly tries to compete in an environment of cautious consumers, it will need to focus on its public perception and sell itself as an affordable option, according to Raymond James restaurant analyst Brian Vaccaro. 'Over the last two years, the industry has gotten more aggressive on value promotions and messaging,' Vaccaro told Fortune. 'There are certain brands that have a strong value proposition in the mind of the average consumer. But they didn't effectively message that, and it caused them to lose some mind share.' Olive Garden suffered this fate in 2024, Vaccaro said, when the fast-casual Italian chain's parent company Darden Restaurants reported a pull back from customers making less than $75,000. 'That could be something that's happened to Chipotle, where their value almost gets taken for granted a little bit,' Vaccaro said. In March, Olive Garden announced the return of its 'buy one, take one' promotion—essentially a buy one, get one free deal—for the first time in five years. The restaurant group attributed a modest earnings beat in June in part to the return of the offer. 'Everyone knows Olive Garden is a good value,' Vaccaro said. 'But if you're not reminding the guests of that, they could get distracted and wooed away by all of these value promotions that are floating around.' This story was originally featured on Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Is PCRAX a Strong Bond Fund Right Now?
If you've been stuck searching for Diversified Bonds funds, you might want to consider passing on by PIMCO Commodity Real Retail Strategy A (PCRAX) as a possibility. PCRAX bears a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 5 (Strong Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance. Objective We classify PCRAX in the Diversified Bonds category, an area that is rife with potential choices. Diversified Bonds funds offer exposure to a wide variety of fixed income types, stretching across various issuers, credit levels, and maturities. Generally speaking, bond funds here will have sizable exposure to government debt, as well as modest holdings in the corporate bond market too. History of Fund/Manager PCRAX finds itself in the PIMCO Funds family, based out of Newport Beach, CA. PIMCO Commodity Real Retail Strategy A made its debut in June of 2002, and since then, PCRAX has accumulated about $205.15 million in assets, per the most up-to-date date available. The fund's current manager is a team of investment professionals. Performance Obviously, what investors are looking for in these funds is strong performance relative to their peers. This fund has delivered a 5-year annualized total return of 13.26%, and is in the middle third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of -0.83%, which places it in the bottom third during this time-frame. It is important to note that the product's returns may not reflect all its expenses. Any fees not reflected would lower the returns. Total returns do not reflect the fund's [%] sale charge. If sales charges were included, total returns would have been lower. When looking at a fund's performance, it is also important to note the standard deviation of the returns. The lower the standard deviation, the less volatility the fund experiences. PCRAX's standard deviation over the past three years is 12.83% compared to the category average of 13.71%. The standard deviation of the fund over the past 5 years is 15.9% compared to the category average of 13.58%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade. Bond Duration Modified duration is a measure of a specific bond's interest rate sensitivity, and is an excellent way to judge how fixed income securities will respond to a shifting rate environment. For investors who think interest rates will rise, this is an important factor to consider. PCRAX has a modified duration of 3.25, which suggests that the fund will decline 3.25% for every hundred-basis-point increase in interest rates. Income We must remember to consider the fund's average coupon, as income is traditionally a big reason for purchasing a fixed income security. Average coupon is a look at the average payout by the fund in a given year. For example, this fund's average coupon of 1.69% means that a $10,000 investment should result in a yearly payout of $169. If you are looking for a strong level of current income, a higher coupon is a good choice, though it could pose a reinvestment risk; these risks can occur if rates are lower in the future when compared to the initial purchase date of the bond. Investors also need to consider risk relative to broad benchmarks, as income is only one part of the bond picture. PCRAX carries a beta of -0.09, meaning that the fund is less volatile than a broad market index of fixed income securities. With this in mind, it has a positive alpha of 13.31, which measures performance on a risk-adjusted basis. Ratings Investors should also consider a bond's rating, which is a grade ( 'AAA' to 'D' ) given to a bond that indicates its credit quality. With this letter scale in mind, PCRAX has 86.18% in high quality bonds rated at least 'AA' or higher. The fund has an average quality of AAA, and focuses on high quality securities. Expenses For investors, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is key, since costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing. Competition is heating up in this space, and a lower cost product will likely outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, all things being equal. In terms of fees, PCRAX is a load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.19% compared to the category average of 0.95%. So, PCRAX is actually more expensive than its peers from a cost perspective. This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $1,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $50. Fees charged by investment advisors have not been taken into considiration. Returns would be less if those were included. Bottom Line Overall, PIMCO Commodity Real Retail Strategy A ( PCRAX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and higher fees, this fund looks like a poor potential choice for investors right now. Your research on the Diversified Bonds segment doesn't have to stop here. You can check out all the great mutual fund tools we have to offer by going to to see the additional features we offer as well for additional information. If you are more of a stock investor, make sure to also check out our Zacks Rank, and our full suite of tools we have available for novice and professional investors alike. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Get Your Free (PCRAX): Fund Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Los Angeles Times
6 days ago
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
North Irvine prevents Newport Beach 18U ‘three-peat' at USA Water Polo Junior Olympics
IRVINE — Luke Harris called it a really hard decision to leave his brothers on the Newport Harbor High boys' water polo team, competing for a different club team before heading off to college. What made the decision a bit easier was knowing that his good friend and fellow goalkeeper, incoming senior Connor Clougherty, was more than capable of taking the reins in the cage. 'That's my true team, my alma mater,' said Harris, who helped the Sailors claim the CIF Southern Section Open Division title last fall. 'I will always love them to death and be supportive of them. All I want for them is for them to get better and succeed.' Harris left to play with a 'super team,' North Irvine Beast Boys, made up of players from different high schools, this summer. On Tuesday afternoon, he faced many of his Sailors teammates in the boys' 18-and-under gold medal match of the USA Water Polo Junior Olympics. Harris prevented Newport Beach Water Polo Club from winning the division three years in a row, though his own personal streak is intact. The USC-bound goalie made 12 saves as the Beast Boys beat Newport Beach 9-5 for the title at Woollett Aquatics Center. It's the third straight Junior Olympics title for Harris, who helped the Newport Beach 18s win it in 2023 and again last year. 'It felt like it was all or nothing,' Harris said. 'If we didn't win, we were going to feel like a bunch of dogs, honestly. Our whole persona was big, almost a little cocky, everyone kind of hated us. If we didn't win this, it was all for nothing. That was our mindset the whole time.' JSerra graduate Gavin Conant, who, like Harris, will be a Trojan next year, scored a match-high four goals and earned MVP honors. North Irvine, which avenged a loss to Newport Beach in the Junior Olympics quarterfinals on Monday, also featured Corona del Mar graduate Jackson Harlan and Newport Harbor graduate Santino Rossi. Harlan, the 2024-25 Daily Pilot Dream Team Player of the Year, had a field block and a drawn exclusion in the win. 'Coming together and training for three months, going out and getting the job done, there's no better feeling,' Harlan said. 'A surreal feeling.' Sean Anderson, an incoming sophomore transfer from JSerra, had two goals for team-high honors for Newport Beach. Coach Ross Sinclair said that Anderson and his older brother, Tyler, an incoming senior center who starred for the Lions last season, are now both officially enrolled at Newport Harbor. Kai Kaneko, Declan Bartlett and Fletcher Appeldorn added goals for Newport Beach. Clougherty made four saves. Harris said that North Irvine, which led 6-2 at halftime, effectively utilized an 'M-drop' zone defense. 'They just played a little faster, a little more intense, and they had some big moments from big-time players,' Sinclair said. 'I love Luke; I thought he was great. I've seen that before. I'm bummed that we lost, but I'm happy for the way that he goes out his last year. He was fantastic.' Newport Beach missed incoming senior standout Connor Ohl, who has been playing with the U.S. men's senior national team at the World Aquatics World Championships in Singapore. Team USA plays Italy in the seventh-place match on Thursday morning. The Sailors, who Sinclair has guided to the CIF finals in the top division for six straight years, will get back to high school water polo soon enough this fall. 'We have a good group, it's going to be fun,' Sinclair said. 'It's more, 'how do we stay focused, stay hungry and use experiences like this to get better?' It's going to be a fun high school season. There's a lot of good teams out there. We'll enjoy a little break, come back and chip away.' Session Two of the USA Water Polo Junior Olympics, featuring girls' and co-ed divisions, runs Thursday through Sunday in Orange County.
Los Angeles Times
7 days ago
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Newport Beach 12-and-under boys nab silver at USA Water Polo Junior Olympics
IRVINE — The Newport Beach Water Polo Club 12-and-under boys certainly became more than familiar with Del Mar during the course of the club season. The teams played six times, and Tuesday's gold medal match of the USA Water Polo Junior Olympics might have been the closest of all. In the end, Del Mar goalkeeper Braxton Harp came up big. Harp earned MVP honors, making two saves in a penalty shootout that Del Mar won 4-1 at Woollett Aquatics Center. The teams were tied 10-10 after regulation, but only Pierce Clymer could score for Newport Beach in the shootout that followed. 'Honestly, they played their hearts out,' Newport Beach 12U coach Konstantinos Koulouris said of his silver-medal winners. 'They played so good. We were locked in from the beginning and very focused. I'm so proud of them for all of the performances that they had the whole weekend. It's hard to beat a team that you've lost to four times, you know.' Del Mar improved to 4-2 against Newport Beach in the club season, including an 11-9 victory in the Junior Olympic quarterfinals on Monday. But the locals from Newport didn't quit there, beating Mission in a play-in game to the semifinals, where they edged Vanguard 7-7 (3-1 in a shootout) on Tuesday morning. Clymer led Newport Beach with four goals in the gold medal match, and Tanner Thomas scored three. Dalton Horne added a pair of goals. Playing at center, Evan Shackelford scored a late goal that gave Newport a 10-9 lead, and he also drew eight exclusions and a penalty shot in the final. 'Obviously, I want to score, that's my priority,' Shackelford said. 'But if I have to, I'll let go of the ball if [the defender] is on my back all of the time. I just want to shoot and score and celebrate with my teammates.' Shackelford and Thomas helped Newport Beach foul out three Del Mar players. Del Mar finished the game without any substitutes available. 'That's our game plan,' Koulouris said. 'We tried to find small entry passes, draw the ejections and play quick. That's what they did … We tried to make some plays in order to put one more kid out, but it didn't work out. They're 12, and they're under pressure. 'It's a great lesson for them for the years after, right? They're going to play this team again multiple times in the future, maybe until they go to college. Del Mar is a great program, they work hard and they have a great coaching staff.' Goalkeeper Finn Breneman made eight saves for Newport Beach, and Hayden Stout had three steals. Other contributors included Stryder Gregory, Griffin Harvey, Oliver Horowitz, Pierson Nichols, Wyatt Robinson, Logan Jameson and Cameron Berman. Del Mar's Attila McCollum scored a late equalizer to send the match to overtime, one of his three goals, and Jason Robinson led the winners with four goals. All of the Newport Beach players will be aging up to the 14-and-under age group next year, and they do hope to meet up with Del Mar again in the future. 'I think we showed up pretty well,' Thomas said. 'There were definitely things we needed to work on toward the end. It kept on going back and forth, which does get a little stressful at times. A few adjustments we need to make, and hopefully we can be back here in a few years with the same team and win it all.' Other local boys' club teams also grabbed medals during Session One of the Junior Olympics. They included Newport Beach Blue 10U (bronze in platinum division), Newport Beach White 10U (bronze in gold division), Vanguard 12U (bronze in platinum division), Newport Beach White 12U (silver in classic bracket), Corona del Mar 14U (silver in gold division), Costa Mesa Aquatics Club 14U (bronze in invitational bracket), Vanguard Silver 16U (bronze in invitational bracket) and Vanguard Silver 18U (bronze in classic bracket). Session Two, which features co-ed and female age divisions, begins Thursday and runs through Sunday.
