Rate Talk a Distraction From Booming Summer Business Says EPR CEO

All the talk about potentially higher interest rates ahead has the market bearing down on publicly traded REITs. Greg Silvers, CEO of EPR Properties (EPR), said the best way to move forward is to simply ignore all the noise. 'We know how to operate in those environments,' said Silvers. 'Really we are just looking for some of this to calm down and allow us to continue to execute our business plan.' Shares of the Kansas City Missouri-based real estate investment trust specializing in entertainment, recreation and education properties have dropped nearly 2% so far in 2015. The iShares US Real Estate ETF (IYR) is down just under 1% over the same period. Earlier this month, EPR reported second quarter funds from operations of $64.3 million, or $1.08 per share, beating Wall Street’s consensus estimate by two cents. Funds from operations takes net income and adds back items such as depreciation and amortization. The company said it had net income of $42.8 million, or 75 cents per share. On the top line, EPR posted revenue of $77.9 million in the period. Wall Street’s consensus forecast was $82.5 million.