Why One Real Estate Fund Made a $5 Million Bet on InvenTrust Properties Despite the Stock Lagging the S&P 500

On May 8, 2026, Waterfall Asset Management disclosed a new position in InvenTrust Properties (NYSE:IVT), acquiring 164,962 shares—an estimated $4.97 million trade based on quarterly average pricing.

What happened

According to a SEC filing dated May 8, 2026, Waterfall Asset Management reported opening a new position in InvenTrust Properties (NYSE:IVT) by purchasing 164,962 shares. The estimated transaction value was $4.97 million, based on the average unadjusted closing price for the first quarter of 2026. The position’s value at quarter’s end was $5.02 million, reflecting both trading activity and stock price changes.

What else to know

• This was a new position for Waterfall Asset Management and represents 2.81% of the fund’s 13F reportable assets under management as of March 31, 2026.
• Top holdings after the quarter:
  • NYSE:CPT: $12.86 million (11.2% of AUM)
  • NYSE:AVB: $12.28 million (10.7% of AUM)
  • NYSE:APLE: $10.77 million (9.4% of AUM)
  • NYSE:RITM: $9.73 million (8.5% of AUM)
  • NYSE:MRP: $9.10 million (8.0% of AUM)
• As of May 7, 2026, InvenTrust shares were priced at $31.66, up 13% over the past year and underperforming the S&P 500, which is instead up 30%.

Company Overview

Metric	Value
Price (as of market close 2026-05-07)	$31.66
Market Capitalization	$2.47 billion
Revenue (TTM)	$308 million
Net Income (TTM)	$109.8 million

Company Snapshot

• InvenTrust Properties owns, leases, redevelops, acquires, and manages grocery-anchored neighborhood centers and select power centers, with a focus on retail properties in Sun Belt markets.
• The firm operates as a retail REIT focused on multi-tenant retail centers.
• It focuses on grocery-anchored centers with essential retail as tenants in Sun Belt markets.

InvenTrust Properties Corp. is a leading retail REIT specializing in grocery-anchored shopping centers across high-growth Sun Belt markets. The company leverages disciplined capital allocation and a focused investment strategy to enhance its portfolio of multi-tenant retail properties. Its emphasis on essential retail tenants and favorable demographics supports stable cash flows and positions the company competitively within the retail REIT sector.

What this transaction means for investors

While plenty of REIT investors have chased data centers or AI-linked real estate plays, grocery-anchored retail centers continue to produce reliable cash flow, especially in fast-growing Sun Belt markets where population growth remains strong.

InvenTrust’s latest results, released last week, are a testament to that story. First-quarter leased occupancy hit 96.4% (and even stronger among anchor stores), while blended lease spreads came in at 10.5%, showing the company still has pricing power with tenants. Same-property NOI climbed 2.6%, and core FFO increased to $0.49 per diluted share from $0.46 a year earlier. The company also leaned further into expansion, spending roughly $123 million on acquisitions during the quarter, including its entry into Nashville with the purchase of Nashville West.

Importantly, this doesn’t look like a high-risk turnaround play. InvenTrust has no debt maturities in 2026 and ended the quarter with roughly $346 million in liquidity. And though the stock has lagged the broader market, that may be exactly why value-focused funds are starting to lean in.

Jonathan Ponciano has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends AvalonBay Communities. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.