CANADIAN REIT $38.74 (Toronto symbol REF.UN; Units outstanding: 67.6 million; Market cap: $2.6 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 3.7%; www.creit.ca) owns over 190 properties, including retail, industrial and office buildings, located across Canada and in the Chicago area. These properties contain over 24 million square feet of leasable area. Its occupancy rate is 94.4%.
In the three months ended December 31, 2011, the real estate investment trust’s revenue rose 8.9%, to $90.0 million from $82.6 million a year earlier. Cash flow per unit rose 6.9%, to $0.62 from $0.58.
The REIT bought $264.5 million of properties in 2011, including its June purchase of two fully leased malls in Mississauga, Ontario, for $174.4 million. In March 2012, it bought 50% of the 310,000- square-foot Altius Centre in Calgary for $89.9 million. In April, it paid $156.0 million for 50% of Calgary Place, a 575,000-square-foot office and retail complex, also in Calgary.
The REIT pays a monthly distribution of $0.12 a unit. That gives it an annualized yield of 3.7%.
Canadian REIT’s broad diversification cuts its risk. Its geographic breakdown is as follows: Alberta, 34%; Ontario, 31%; Atlantic Canada, 13%; B.C., 9%; Quebec, 9%; the Prairies, 2%, and the U.S., 2%. Retail properties make up 55% of its assets, followed by office (22%) and industrial (23%).
Canadian REIT is still a buy.
