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The first-quarter 2017 earnings season is nearing its end. Majority of the companies from the real estate investment trust (REIT) have already come up with their results. Some REITs which are expected to report their quarterly figures on May 9 include Regency Centers Corporation REG, Colony NorthStar, Inc. CLNS, W. P. Carey Inc. WPC and National Health Investors Inc. NHI.
 
In the broader market, as of May 3, results from 358 S&P 500 members that are already out reveal a substantial improvement of 12.9% in total earnings from the same period last year. Also, total revenues for the companies increased 7.9% year over year. (Read more: Impressive Growth in Q1 Earnings Season)

The performance of the REIT sector was mixed during the quarter. Rate hike issue was an important factor during the quarter, but underlying asset class dynamics and geographic location of the properties played an important role in the performance of REITs.

Per a study by a leading commercial real estate services firm, the overall industrial real estate market remained upbeat in first-quarter 2017, despite higher supply. Again, data center REITs experienced a boom period, aided by huge growth in cloud computing, Internet of Things and big data.

However, declining mall traffic and store closures amid considerable growth in online sales kept retail REITs on tenterhooks. Also, rising number of deliveries of new units in a number of key markets have raised concerns for some of the residential REIT stocks.

Let’s take a look at what’s in store for the four REITs set to release their first-quarter results on May 9.

For this, we rely on the Zacks methodology, combining a favorable Zacks Rank – Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) – and a positive Earnings ESP, to predict the chances of a beat. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Per our proprietary methodology, Earnings ESP shows the percentage difference between the Most Accurate estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Research shows that with this combination of Zacks Rank and ESP, chances of a positive earnings surprise are as high as 70% for the stocks.

Jacksonville, FL-based Regency Centers is expected to report results after the market closes. The company has an Earnings ESP of -1.21% and a Zacks Rank #3. Therefore, our proven model does not conclusively show that Regency Centers will beat on earnings this season because it lacks the right combination for an earnings beat prediction. (Read more: Regency Centers to Post Q1 Earnings: What's in Store?)