A Yield to Caution: Northwest Healthcare Properties REIT

Article Excerpt

NORTHWEST HEALTHCARE PROPERTIES REIT $5.23 (Toronto symbol NWH.UN; Units outstanding: 242.5 million; Market cap: $1.3 billion; Distribution yield: 6.9%; www.nwhreit.com) owns and operates an international portfolio of 231 medical office buildings, as well as operating hospital and healthcare facilities. Northwest has just cut its distribution by 55%, to $0.03 a share per month from $0.06667. The stock now yields a still-high 6.9%. However, even the new, lower distribution is at risk of being cut further. That’s because the trust’s growth-by-acquisition strategy has resulted in two major risk factors. First, its long-term debt is now equal to $4.0 billion. That’s a very high 3.1 times its currently depressed market cap. Second, Northwest’s expansion included acquiring properties not just in Canada and the U.S., but also in Europe, Brazil, Australia and New Zealand. While that diversified its operations, it also scattered the focus of the trust’s management across numerous jurisdictions; each of those has its unique challenges in an industry struggling with labour shortages, rising costs and political…