CANADIAN REIT $44.97 (Toronto symbol REF.UN; Units outstanding: 69.2 million; Market cap: $3.1 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 3.9%; www.creit.ca) owns 197 properties, including retail, industrial and office buildings, across Canada and in Chicago. These holdings contain almost 24.0 million square feet of leasable area. The trust’s occupancy rate is 95.1%.
In the three months ended March 31, 2014, Canadian REIT’s revenue rose 6.9%, to $102.8 million from $96.1 million a year earlier. Cash flow per unit gained 8.2%, to $0.66 from $0.61.
Canadian REIT added $191.1 million worth of new buildings in 2013. That followed property purchases totalling $401.9 million in 2012, including a 50% stake in Calgary Place, a 575,000-square-foot office and retail complex, for $156.0 million. So far this year, it has not made any acquisitions.
The trust raised its distribution in February 2014. It now pays $0.1458 monthly, up 6.0% from $0.1375. That gives Canadian REIT a 3.9% yield.
The REIT’s broad diversification cuts its risk. It has 37% of its assets in Alberta, followed by Ontario, 26%; Atlantic Canada, 14%; Quebec, 11%; B.C., 9%; the Prairies, 1%; and the U.S., 2%. Shopping malls account for 55% of its properties, followed by industrial (24%) and office (21%).
Canadian REIT is still a buy.
