NEW YORK, January 4, 2026, 13:56 ET — Market closed
- Activist investor James C. Mastandrea said he will seek to replace Whitestone REIT’s board at the 2026 annual meeting, an SEC filing showed.
- Whitestone shares closed Friday at $13.81, down about 0.6%, after the disclosure.
- Traders will watch for fresh proxy filings, any company response, and rate-sensitive catalysts including Monday’s ISM data and Friday’s U.S. jobs report.
Whitestone REIT shares ended Friday slightly lower after longtime shareholder James C. Mastandrea said he plans to run a competing slate for the board, setting up another activist push at the shopping-center landlord. 1
The timing matters for real estate stocks because REITs — real estate investment trusts that own income-producing property — tend to trade with interest-rate expectations. Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Anna Paulson said on Saturday that further U.S. rate cuts may not come soon, in comments that underscored the “higher for longer” debate. 2
For smaller REITs, board fights can become a direct catalyst: activists often press for asset sales, buybacks or an outright takeover when they argue a stock trades below the value of its properties. That can pull in event-driven investors even when the broader sector is moving on rates.
In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday, Mastandrea said he intends to nominate six independent trustee candidates and solicit votes using a “universal proxy” card — a ballot that lets shareholders mix and match nominees from both sides. 1
Mastandrea, who said he has owned the stock since Whitestone’s 2010 IPO, disclosed ownership of 1,149,604 common shares. He criticized what he called underperformance and a persistent discount to net asset value, or NAV — an estimate of what the company’s real estate would be worth after debt — and questioned capital allocation, the filing showed. 1
He urged Whitestone to weigh strategic alternatives including a negotiated sale or liquidation of properties, and said the board should consider hiring an independent investment bank to review options, according to the filing. 1
Whitestone, which owns open-air retail centers in markets including Phoenix and Houston, last month raised its quarterly dividend and authorized a $50 million share repurchase program, a company filing showed. “We remain squarely focused on delivering our 5 – 7% long-term Core FFO per share growth target,” CEO Dave Holeman said at the time; Core FFO is a REIT cash-earnings measure that strips out certain items such as real-estate depreciation. 3
WSR closed Friday at $13.81 on volume of 198,389 shares, down about 0.6% from the prior close of $13.89, based on Whitestone’s published historical prices. The stock is trading below its 52-week high of $14.78 and above a 52-week low of $11.43, according to market data. 4
But proxy contests do not always end in a deal. Whitestone’s board could resist the slate, and a prolonged fight can add costs and distraction at a time when retail landlords are still navigating tenant churn and rate-driven swings in investor appetite for dividend stocks.
When U.S. markets reopen Monday, investors will watch for any response from Whitestone and for additional filings from Mastandrea’s group. Rate-sensitive real estate names will also take cues from the ISM manufacturing report due at 10:00 a.m. ET on January 5 and the U.S. employment report on January 9. 5
