These growing REITs offer strong yields

Article Excerpt

ALLIED PROPERTIES REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $36.93 (Toronto symbol AP.UN; Units outstanding: 84.7 million; Market cap: $3.1 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 4.1%; www. alliedreit.com) owns 155 office buildings, mainly in major Canadian cities. Most of those properties are classified as Class I buildings, and together they comprise over 11.8 million square feet of leasable area. Class I refers to 19thand early-20th-century industrial buildings that are now used as office space. They often have exposed beams and brick walls, and hardwood floors. Allied increased its acquisition activity in 2016: for the year, it spent $376.7 million on seven properties in major Canadian cities, including Calgary, Toronto and Montreal. In 2015, it spend $164.8 million. Those new buildings helped raise the trust’s revenue by 12.1% in the quarter ended December 31, 2016, to $105.4 million from $94.0 million a year earlier. Cash flow rose 1.3%, to $35.8 million from $35.4 million. Cash flow per unit fell 6.7%, to $0.42 from $0.45. That…