CANADIAN REIT $48.21 (Toronto symbol REF.UN; Units outstanding: 72.4 million; Market cap: $3.5 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 3.6%; www.creit.ca) owns 198 properties, including retail, industrial and office buildings, across Canada and in Chicago. These holdings contain 24.6 million square feet of leasable area. The trust’s occupancy rate is 95.3%.
In the three months ended September 30, 2014, Canadian REIT’s revenue rose 1.5%, to $100.8 million from $99.3 million a year earlier. Cash flow per unit gained 2.8%, to $0.74 from $0.72.
Canadian REIT added $191.1 million worth of buildings in 2013. That followed $401.9 million of purchases in 2012, including 50% of Calgary Place, a 575,000-square-foot office and retail complex, for $156.0 million. So far this year, it has made one acquisition: a 261,000-square-foot industrial property near Toronto’s Pearson International Airport for $29.3 million.
The trust pays a monthly distribution of $0.1458, for a 3.6% yield.
The REIT’s broad diversification cuts its risk. It has 36% of its assets in Alberta, followed by Ontario, 27%; Atlantic Canada, 14%; Quebec, 11%; B.C., 9%; the Prairies, 1%; and the U.S., 2%. Shopping malls represent 54% of its square footage, followed by office (24%) and industrial (22%).
Canadian REIT is still a buy.
