BTIG analyst James Sullivan initiated Investors Real Estate with a Buy rating and a price target of $79, saying the REIT offers investors an opportunity to participate in a portfolio with "stable, B-quality" assets that have been under-managed and which typically tend to outperform over the latter stages of a cycle. The analyst expects Investors Real Estate's top line to grow at a rate above the peer group over the next several quarters after it rolled out a "more aggressive" operating management platform, introduced "several ancillary" revenue programs, and launched a "value-add re-investment program" in its portfolio. Sullivan further anticipates "substantial gains" in the REIT's operating margins.