Office reopenings will lift these two REITs

Article Excerpt

The easing of the Omicron wave of COVID-19 should let many businesses re-open their offices after two years of lockdowns. That would help lift occupancy rates and support the distributions of these two office-focused REITs. ALLIED PROPERTIES REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $44 is a buy. The REIT (Toronto symbol AP.UN; Cyclical-Growth Dividend Payer Portfolio, Manufacturing sector; Units outstanding: 127.7 million; Market cap: $5.6 billion; Dividend yield: 4.0%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Above Average; www.alliedreit.com) owns 195 office buildings and 11 properties under development, mainly in major Canadian cities. Its occupancy rate is a high 90.4%. Starting with the January 2022 payment, the REIT raised its monthly distribution by 2.9%. The new annual rate of $1.75 yields a high 4.0%. The REIT’s payout ratio in the latest quarter was 82.1%–or 0.9% higher than a year earlier. The REIT acquired $359.4 million in properties and air rights in 2021. That’s partly why its revenue increased by 1.1% in the quarter ended December 31, 2021, to $146.7 million from $145.2 million…