See more: CapitaLand Ascott Trust announces unchanged distribution per stapled security in FY2025
Following the results announcement, analysts are keeping a positive outlook on CLAS, while maintaining their “buy” and “accumulate” calls on the hospitality trust.
UOB Kay Hian (UOBKH) has an unchaged target price of $1.42 and analyst Jonathan Koh notes that the living sector accounted for 17% of CLAS’ portfolio valuation as of December 2025 (student accommodation: 11%, rental housing: 6%).
“CLAS continues to reposition toward the living sector. It intends to acquire student accommodations in the UK (yield: 5-6%) and Singapore (yield: 5%). It is scouting for rental housing in Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka in Japan (yield: 4%),” says Koh.
See also: Tickrs initiates coverage on PC Partner with ‘buy’ call and $2.20 TP, FY2025 profit to ‘surge’ 72%
The way he sees it, CLAS could see growth on higher occupancies and asset enhancement initiatives (AEIs). CLAS has planned five AEIs in 2026 and 2027.
He also sees growth opportunities for CLAS in Australia with a strong sports events calendar, Singapore as its events calendar sees a recovery and US thanks to its strong domestic travel.
Similarly, Maybank Securities has also maintained its $1.05 target on CLAS’ diversified portfolio and proactive portfolio management.
See also: Analysts mostly bullish on EQDP's impact on SGX; Morningstar views tailwind as ‘temporary’
Analyst Krishna Guha expects FY2025 DPS to come in at 6.1 cents, while raising FY2027 DPS forecast by about 1.7% to 6.2 cents, factoring in asset enhancements and portfolio rebalancing.
Risks Guha has noted include slower recovery of demand from corporates, Chinese tourists and international students; master lease renewals; lower margins; and higher interest rates.
OCBC Investment Research has a fair value estimate of $1.01, a slight notch down from $1.02 previously.
Analyst Ada Lim says: “We are somewhat disappointed that management has reiterated its guidance for FY2026 DPS to be stable instead of a return to growth, as non-recurring income is deployed to top up loss of income from AEIs meant to strengthen the overall portfolio.”
“While investors typically buy into S-REITs for stability, zero growth for potentially two consecutive years causes us to turn incrementally less constructive on the counter,” she says, but keeps her “buy” call, as CLAS’s total returns potential still exceeds 10%.
On the outlook, Lim notes that while discretionary travel spending is levered to the ebbs and flows of the economic cycle, she likes that CLAS’s portfolio is well-diversified across many geographies; the REIT enjoys income from a mix of stable and growth sources; and CLAS has exposure to the living sector – including student accommodation in the US and rental housing in Japan – for which demand is less likely to be affected by any weakening in the global macroeconomic outlook. “We also see CLAS’s ongoing portfolio rejuvenation as a positive for long-term growth and sustainability,” she adds.
PhillipCapital’s Darren Chan keeps his “accumulate” rating and has increased his target price on CLAS to $1.08 from $1.05. CLAS is also the brokerage’s top pick in the hospitality sector, underpinned by its balanced mix of stable and growth income streams, alongside strong geographical diversification for earnings resilience.
“We expect low single-digit portfolio RevPAU growth in FY2026, supported by improving occupancy. CLAS has guided to a stable DPS y-o-y for FY2026 at 6.1 cents, supported by past divestment gains used to offset the impact of major ongoing AEIs. There is over $300 million of such gains still available on the balance sheet,” says Chan, adding that the current share price of 98 cents implies an FY2026 dividend yield of 6.2%.
As at 11.50am, shares in CLAS are trading at 98 cents.
