On Friday, Jefferies downgraded its recommendation on Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield shares from 'buy' to 'hold', following a sharp rise in the share price in recent months.

In a research note published this morning, the consultancy believes that it is now more difficult to recommend the stock as a buy now that it has climbed 40% since last November.

By way of comparison, the sector has risen by only 8% in the meantime, while Klépierre's share price has fallen by 1.5% over the same period, it points out in the study.

Admittedly, the commercial real estate group's key operating indicators improved in 2023, it will resume dividend payments and its targets for 2024 exceed expectations, acknowledges the analyst, who nonetheless believes that its management team will have to lift the veil on the next strategic steps in order to maintain the favorable stock market momentum.

Among the levers envisaged to maintain this bullish bias, Jefferies says to retain (1) the need to drastically reduce the company's footprint on the US market and (2) an increased focus on cash flow (FFO) rather than the attention hitherto given to debt reduction.

Its price target remains unchanged at 78 euros.

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