Is Holding Kimco Realty Stock Still a Smart Move for Your Portfolio?

Kimco Realty KIM is a retail REIT that owns and operates neighborhood and community shopping centers across the United States. As of March 31, 2026, it held interests in 565 shopping centers and mixed-use properties spanning 99.6 million square feet across 29 states. Its portfolio is focused on first-ring suburbs of major metropolitan areas and is anchored by necessity-based retailers.Kimco benefits from a portfolio of grocery-anchored shopping centers in prime first-ring suburban markets, while healthy leasing spreads support long-term capital recycling. However, the company remains exposed to intensifying e-commerce competition and a competitive leasing environment. Its sizable debt burden and rising interest expenses could constrain financial flexibility and weigh on earnings growth.Analysts seem bullish on this retail REIT, with the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its 2026 funds from operations (“FFO”) per share being raised by 1 penny over the past two months to $1.83. In the past three months, shares of this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company have gained 15.3% compared with the industry's growth of 13.1%.  Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchWhat Aids KIM?Kimco continues to benefit from its portfolio of grocery-anchored shopping centers located in first-ring suburbs of major coastal and Sun Belt metropolitan markets. These necessity-based centers generate steady customer traffic and support healthy leasing demand. At the end of the first quarter of 2026, portfolio occupancy stood at 96.3%, with anchor occupancy at 97.9% and small-shop occupancy at 92.5%. Necessity-driven retail, led by grocery, remains a key pillar of Kimco’s strategy, helping maintain steady foot traffic across its shopping centers. During the first quarter of 2026, the company signed 576 leases covering 4.4 million square feet and generated blended cash rent spreads of 11.3% on comparable leases, with new lease spreads reaching 23.8%. The company is also creating long-term value through redevelopment, mixed-use projects and disciplined capital allocation. During the first quarter of 2026, Kimco completed a $106 million preferred equity investment in the Coulter Place multifamily project. Planned redevelopment spending of $100-$150 million and leasing and maintenance capital of $275-$300 million in 2026 should further enhance portfolio quality and support future leasing activity.A diversified tenant base, strong liquidity and disciplined capital recycling further strengthen Kimco's outlook. The five largest tenants each contribute less than 4% of annualized base rental revenues, reducing concentration risk. The company ended the quarter with approximately $2.2 billion of immediate liquidity after expanding its revolving credit facility and launching a $750 million commercial paper program. Supported by recurring cash flows, Kimco also increased its annualized dividend by 4% to $1.04 per share and expects 2026 FFO of about $1.81 per share.What’s Hurting KIM?Kimco faces headwinds from the continued shift toward online shopping and changing consumer spending habits. E-commerce companies are expanding into grocery and other everyday product categories that are important to Kimco’s shopping centers.The company also operates in a competitive retail real estate market. It competes with other shopping center owners and developers to attract and retain tenants. Another challenge is Kimco’s debt burden. As of March 31, 2026, the company had approximately $8.2 billion in total debt. Higher borrowing costs are expected to keep interest expenses elevated.Stock to ConsiderSome better-ranked stocks from the broader REIT sector are American Assets Trust AAT and Curbline Properties Corp. CURB, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AAT’s 2026 FFO per share is pegged at $2.03, indicating 1.5% growth year over year.The consensus estimate for CURB’s 2026 FFO per share is pinned at $1.22, implying growth of 15.1% year over year.Note: Anything related to earnings presented in this write-up represents funds from operations (FFO), a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs. Beyond Nvidia: AI's Second Wave Is HereThe AI revolution has already minted millionaires. But the stocks everyone knows about aren't likely to keep delivering the biggest profits. AI’s second wave is moving from infrastructure to implementation and these companies are at the forefront of this transition, positioned to become what Amazon and Google were to the internet era.See Stocks Now >>This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks