Two Income Trusts: 1 Buy, 1 Hold

Article Excerpt

DUNDEE REIT $13.88 (Toronto symbol D.UN; SI Rating: Speculative) (416-365-3535; www.dundeereit.com; Shares outstanding: 16.9 million; Market cap: $235.2 million) owns and operates seven million square feet of office, industrial and retail space, including 43 office buildings and 36 industrial properties. GE Real Estate holds a 14.3% voting interest in Dundee, and Dundee Corp. holds 16%. Revenues were $50.4 million in the three months ended December 31, 2008, up 18.1% from $42.7 million a year earlier. The best measure of operating performance for a real-estate company is cash flow, and Dundee’s cash flow per share rose 9.6%, to $0.57 from $0.52 in the latest quarter. The improved results mostly came from higher rents. Many of Dundee’s properties are coming up for renewal, and as those leases mature, it’s profiting from higher renewal rates and cash flow. Average rents increased 13% in the latest quarter, to $15.30 per square foot. The company’s properties have a high 96.7% occupancy rate. Dundee pays a distribution of…