CANADIAN REIT $44.81 (Toronto symbol REF.UN; Units outstanding: 68.2 million; Market cap: $3.1 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 3.3%; www.creit.ca) owns over 190 properties, including retail, industrial and office buildings, across Canada and in Chicago. These holdings contain over 19.3 million square feet of leasable area. The trust’s occupancy rate is 94.8%.
In the three months ended September 30, 2012, Canadian REIT’s revenue rose 13.1%, to $94.7 million from $83.7 million a year earlier. Cash flow per unit rose 11.7%, to $0.67 from $0.60.
Canadian REIT added $308.4 million of properties in the first three quarters of 2012, including two office buildings, a further investment in the Dartmouth Crossing (Atlantic Canada’s largest unenclosed mall) and the completion of several development projects. That total also included its $156.0- million purchase of a 50% interest in Calgary Place, a 575,000-square-foot office and retail complex.
The trust pays $0.124 a unit per month. That gives it a 3.3% yield.
Canadian REIT’s broad diversification cuts its risk. It has 39% of its assets in Alberta, followed by Ontario, 28%; Atlantic Canada, 13%; B.C., 9%; Quebec, 8%; the Prairies, 2%; and the U.S., 1%. Shopping malls account for 53% of its properties, followed by office (26%) and industrial (21%).
Canadian REIT is still a buy.
