Dividend increase: Allied REIT

Article Excerpt

ALLIED PROPERTIES REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $37 (Toronto symbol AP.UN; Cyclical-Growth Payer Portfolio; Units outstanding: 84.7 million; Market cap: $3.1 billion; Dividend yield: 4.1%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Above Average; www.alliedreit.com) owns 155 office buildings, mainly in major Canadian cities. Most of those properties are classified as Class I buildings; altogether, they comprise over 11.8 million square feet of leasable area. Class I refers to 19th and early-20th-century industrial buildings that are now used as office space. They often have hardwood floors, and exposed beams and brick walls. In January 2017, Allied raised its monthly distribution by 2.0%, to $0.1275 from $0.125. The new annual rate of $1.53 yields a high 4.1%. Allied trades at 19.8 times the REIT’s forecast 2017 cash flow of $1.87 per unit. Allied Properties REIT is a buy. buy…