Sabra Health Care REIT Inc
NASDAQ:SBRA
Sabra Health Care REIT Inc
Sabra Health Care REIT Inc. emerged as a crucial player in the health care real estate sector, weaving its business model around the dynamic needs of senior living and specialized health facilities. Founded in 2010, Sabra was born from the idea of providing reliable financial support to health care operators by investing in their real estate. As a real estate investment trust (REIT), Sabra acquires, owns, and leases properties to operators of skilled nursing facilities, senior housing communities, and hospitals across the United States and Canada. The company derives its income primarily through lease payments from tenants, often structured as triple-net leases, where the operators bear responsibilities for property expenses such as maintenance, insurance, and taxes, ensuring Sabra receives steady, predictable cash flows.
Sabra's strategy involves building a diversified portfolio to mitigate risks, investing in a range of facility types, each catering to different demographics and health care needs. This strategic diversity is a testament to Sabra's understanding of the market's cyclical nature and its adaptability to regulatory changes in the health care environment. The management team at Sabra is seasoned and places significant emphasis on maintaining quality relationships with their operators, ensuring the facilities are not just functional but thrive in providing critical services. By effectively leveraging their real estate assets and adapting to industry trends, Sabra not only contributes to the health care ecosystem but also locks in long-term profitability avenues, all while navigating the complexities of a heavily regulated sector.
Sabra Health Care REIT Inc. emerged as a crucial player in the health care real estate sector, weaving its business model around the dynamic needs of senior living and specialized health facilities. Founded in 2010, Sabra was born from the idea of providing reliable financial support to health care operators by investing in their real estate. As a real estate investment trust (REIT), Sabra acquires, owns, and leases properties to operators of skilled nursing facilities, senior housing communities, and hospitals across the United States and Canada. The company derives its income primarily through lease payments from tenants, often structured as triple-net leases, where the operators bear responsibilities for property expenses such as maintenance, insurance, and taxes, ensuring Sabra receives steady, predictable cash flows.
Sabra's strategy involves building a diversified portfolio to mitigate risks, investing in a range of facility types, each catering to different demographics and health care needs. This strategic diversity is a testament to Sabra's understanding of the market's cyclical nature and its adaptability to regulatory changes in the health care environment. The management team at Sabra is seasoned and places significant emphasis on maintaining quality relationships with their operators, ensuring the facilities are not just functional but thrive in providing critical services. By effectively leveraging their real estate assets and adapting to industry trends, Sabra not only contributes to the health care ecosystem but also locks in long-term profitability avenues, all while navigating the complexities of a heavily regulated sector.
FFO/AFFO Growth: Sabra guided to 4.9% and 5.4% midpoint growth in normalized FFO and normalized AFFO per share for 2026, reflecting ongoing operational strength.
Strong SHOP Results: The managed senior housing (SHOP) portfolio showed impressive sequential revenue and NOI growth, with occupancy gains and margin expansion.
Investment Pipeline: Sabra expects to materially exceed 2025's $450 million investment volume in 2026, already closing or awarding $240 million of deals early in the year.
Occupancy Gains: Same-store senior housing occupancy rose 160 bps year-over-year to 87.9%, with Canadian assets exceeding 94%. Management expects low 90s occupancy soon.
Canadian Outperformance: Canadian senior housing assets had stronger RevPOR and occupancy growth than US peers, with continued expectations for high performance.
Guidance Introduced: 2026 guidance includes normalized FFO per share of $1.49–$1.53 and normalized AFFO per share of $1.55–$1.59, both up ~5% at midpoint.
Dividend: A quarterly cash dividend of $0.30 per share was declared, covered by AFFO with a 79% payout ratio.
Leverage & Liquidity: Leverage held steady at 5.0x net debt/EBITDA, with $1.2 billion in liquidity and no floating rate permanent debt.
