It’s time to buy shares of mall operator Regency Centers , according to Barclays. Analyst Anthony F. Powell upgraded shares to overweight from equal weight, saying the stock is at an attractive entry point given the shopping center REIT’s compelling growth and demographics. “After the recent volatility in REITs, we are upgrading Regency to Overweight. Grocery-anchored shopping center fundamentals, especially in high income areas (where REG focuses), remain attractive,” Powell said to clients in a Thursday note. “REG also has a strong balance sheet and now trades below its pre and post Covid P/FFO average multiples.” Regency Centers stock is down more than 9% this year, compared to a 3% decline in the S & P 500. The mall operator REIT dropped more than 17% in 2022. Regardless, the analyst’s $70 price target means shares can advance another 24% from Wednesday’s closing price of $56.31. The stock rose about 1% in Thursday premarket trading. REG 1D mountain Regency Centers shares 1-day Given concerns of a slowing macro environment, the analyst said Regency Centers will be relatively insulated given its strong tenant demand, and its position in areas with high-income customers with high rent growth. “We see the recent volatility (REG shares are down 9.9% year to date versus a 5.6% decline for the RMZ) as now providing a compelling entry point; at 13.8x our 2023 FFO estimate, the company is trading about 2x below its post-Covid average, with an attractive 4%+ dividend yield,” read the note. “Further, with balance sheet strength of increasing importance, REG has relatively low near-term maturities (about $470mn through 2024, or 3% of its total enterprise value and about 13% of its total debt stack),” it continued. —CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to this report.