riocan

CENOVUS ENERGY INC., $38.73, Toronto symbol CVE, spent $2.7 billion on capital upgrades in 2011. That’s up 28.7% from $2.1 billion in 2010. The company used about a third of this money to expand its 50%-owned Foster Creek and Christina Lake oil sands properties in Alberta; U.S.-based ConocoPhillips (New York symbol COP) owns the other 50%. As a result, Cenovus’s oil sands production rose 12.7% in 2011, to 66,533 barrels a day from 59,045 barrels in 2010. That helped offset a 3.5% drop in conventional oil production. Overall oil production rose 3.9%, to 134,239 barrels a day from 129,187 barrels. Natural gas production fell 11.0%, mainly because Cenovus sold some of its gas properties in 2010....

All of our real estate investment trust (REIT) recommendations have moved up in the past year, but we still think they offer attractive long-term returns at relatively low risk. RioCan is particularly appealing because of its high-quality properties, reliable tenants and high occupancy rates. RIOCAN REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $25.79 (Toronto symbol REI.UN; Units outstanding: 267.0 million; Market cap: $6.9 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 5.4%; www.riocan.com) is Canada’s largest REIT. It has interests in 331 shopping malls in Canada, including 10 under development. These properties contain over 91 million square feet of leasable area. RioCan also owns stakes in 38 malls in the U.S. through joint ventures. In addition, it owns 14% of Cedar Shopping Centers, a U.S. REIT whose malls are mainly in the northeastern U.S....

RioCan REIT is our #1 safety-conscious pick for 2012. The trust would be a sound addition to the Manufacturing segment of almost any investor’s portfolio. But if you want to hold a range of REITs, you can do so through the iShares CDN REIT Sector Index Fund, an ETF lets you hold 13 in all. And you’ll still have lots of exposure to RioCan, because it’s the ETF’s largest holding. Here’s a closer look: ISHARES CDN REIT SECTOR INDEX FUND $15.72 (Toronto symbol XRE; buy or sell through brokers; ca.ishares.com) holds the 13 Canadian real estate investment trusts (REITs) in the S&P/TSX Capped REIT Index. The weight of any one REIT is limited to 25% of the ETF’s value....

RIOCAN REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $26.33 (Toronto symbol REI.UN; Units outstanding: 267.0 million; Market cap: $7.0 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 5.2%; www.riocan.com) has purchased 80% of the Alamo Ranch shopping mall in San Antonio, Texas. Inland Western Retail REIT owns the remaining 20%.

This is RioCan’s first acquisition in San Antonio. The mall is 88% occupied, and has well-known anchor tenants, such as Target, J.C. Penny and Lowes. Other tenants include Best Buy and Dick’s Sporting Goods. These factors cut the risk of expanding into unfamiliar markets.

RioCan is a buy.

...

RIOCAN REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $26.33 (Toronto symbol REI.UN; Units outstanding: 267.0 million; Market cap: $7.0 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 5.2%; www.riocan.com) has purchased 80% of the Alamo Ranch shopping mall in San Antonio, Texas. Inland Western Retail REIT owns the remaining 20%. This is RioCan’s first acquisition in San Antonio. The mall is 88% occupied, and has well-known anchor tenants, such as Target, J.C. Penny and Lowes. Other tenants include Best Buy and Dick’s Sporting Goods. These factors cut the risk of expanding into unfamiliar markets. RioCan is a buy.

RIOCAN REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $25 (Toronto symbol REI.UN; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Units outstanding: 263.4 million; Market cap: $6.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 5.0; Dividend yield: 5.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.riocan.com) has purchased 80% of the Alamo Ranch shopping mall in San Antonio, Texas. Inland Western Retail REIT owns the remaining 20%.

This is RioCan’s first acquisition in San Antonio. The mall is 88% occupied, and has well-known anchor tenants, such as Target. These factors cut the risk of expanding into unfamiliar markets.

RioCan is a buy.

...

PLEASE NOTE: This is our last Hotline for 2011. Our next Hotline will go out on Friday, January 6, 2012. TRANSCANADA CORP., $44.05, Toronto symbol TRP, is buying nine solar-power projects in Ontario from Canadian Solar Inc. (Nasdaq symbol CSIQ). TransCanada will pay $470 million for these projects. That’s 12.7% more than the $417 million, or $0.59 a share, that it earned in the three months ended September 30, 2011....

RIOCAN REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $25 (Toronto symbol REI.UN; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Units outstanding: 263.4 million; Market cap: $6.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 5.0; Dividend yield: 5.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.riocan.com) has purchased 80% of the Alamo Ranch shopping mall in San Antonio, Texas. Inland Western Retail REIT owns the remaining 20%. This is RioCan’s first acquisition in San Antonio. The mall is 88% occupied, and has well-known anchor tenants, such as Target. These factors cut the risk of expanding into unfamiliar markets. RioCan is a buy.

Calloway Real Estate Investment Trust, $26.91, symbol CWT.UN on Toronto (Units outstanding: 120.7 million; Market cap: $3.2 billion; www.callowayreit.com), owns, develops and operates big-box outdoor malls across Canada. In all, Calloway owns 129 shopping centres and two office buildings, with 25.3 million square feet of leasable area. Its malls are mainly located in the suburbs of larger cities and have lots of room for parking and additional building. The trust gets 58% of its revenue from Ontario, 15% from Quebec, 9% from B.C., 4% from Manitoba, 4% from Saskatchewan, 3% from Newfoundland and Labrador, 3% from Alberta, 2% from Nova Scotia, 1% from New Brunswick and 1% from Prince Edward Island....

RIOCAN REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $25.51 (Toronto symbol REI.UN; Units outstanding: 267.0 million; Market cap: $6.8 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 5.4%; www.riocan.com) recently formed a new joint venture with U.S.-based Tanger Factory Outlet Centers (New York symbol SKT). This week, the partners agreed to buy the Cookstown Outlet Mall, which is about 50 kilometres north of Toronto. RioCan’s share of the $62 million price is $31 million. Tanger and RioCan are also buying 50 acres of land near Ottawa for an undisclosed sum. They plan to develop a Tanger outlet center on the site....