UBS’ Bottom Quant Stocks In AI, IT, Healthcare & Others: 29 Stocks In All Sectors

23. CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBRE)

Number of Hedge Fund Investors In Q2 2024: 54

Sector: Real Estate

CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBRE) is one of the largest real estate services firms in the US. It has a diversified product portfolio through which the firm provides leasing advice, mortgage loans, property management services, and mortgages. This gives CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBRE) a wide exposure to the broader real estate industry, which is a sector that doesn’t perform well when interest rates are high. Yet, with the high-rate era now at its end, CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBRE) is also seeing sizable catalysts in the stock market. To understand these catalysts, consider the share price performance between January and June and from July to November start. During the first period, the stock lost 7.8% while during the second period, it gained 53.6%. This strong latter-half performance has come on the back of rising leasing activity as corporate budgets lighten and a recovery in the global property market during the third quarter.

CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBRE)’s management commented on this recovery during the Q3 2024 earnings call. Here is what they said:

“Advisory net revenue exceeded expectations, supported by leasing strength in the beginning of a recovery in property sales revenue. We continue to benefit from our strong position in the office leasing market. In fact, global office leasing revenue reached a new high for any Q3, increasing by 26% better than we expected. Greater certainty about the economic outlook is supporting occupier decision-making across primary and secondary markets, particularly in the U.S. and Europe.

As expected, demand is skewed towards the highest quality space that will encourage employees to return to the office. Global property sales returned to growth with a 14% revenue increase, exceeding expectations. Revenue grew across all global regions. In the U.S., property sales revenue rose almost 20%, driven by stronger activity in multifamily and retail.”