Data Center REIT Stocks Outperform in January While Broader Markets Struggle

Data center REIT stocks displayed strength during the first month of the year, despite the drop in global equity valuations overall.

The six US data center REITs rewarded shareholders with 6.48 percent price appreciation on average. The data center stock performance compares favorably with the S&P 500 having lost 3.6 percent during volatile January trading sessions. The month's data center results were even more impressive when you factor in their outstanding performance in 2015.

Tale Of The Tape - January 2016

Concerns about China's slowing economy, depressed commodity pricing, and an energy sector reeling from a global oil and gas oversupply dominated the headlines. However, data center stocks, and specifically data center REITs, proved to be a safe haven for investors.

CoreSite Realty (COR) continued to connect with shareholders. REIT investors bid up COR shares nearly 16 percent in January. This follows on the heels of CoreSite delivering total return to shareholders last year of 50.5 percent (including dividends).

Chart by YCHARTS. Click the chart to enlarge

Wholesale data center REIT DuPont Fabros Technology (DFT) lagged the sector during 2015. Notably, DFT rebounded in January with a 7.62 percent gain.

Read more: DuPont Fabros Firing on All Cylinders: Time to Step on Gas?

However, all of the good news isn't readily apparent from just one chart.

QTS Realty (QTS) closed at a then all-time high of $46.20 on Friday January 29, the last trading day of the month. Subsequently, QTS shares have traded as high as $47.55 during intraday trading this Wednesday.

As of this writing, shares of Digital Realty (DLR) have also hit a new 52-week high of $80.98 during intraday trading.

Investors appear eager to own data center stocks prior to the start of fourth-quarter 2015 earnings season along with guidance for 2016.