Re-opening boosts RioCan

Article Excerpt

RIOCAN REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $21 is a buy. The REIT (Toronto symbol REI.UN; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Units outstanding: 303.9 million; Market cap: $6.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 5.6; Distribution yield: 4.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.riocan.com) owns all or part of 202 shopping centres and other properties, as well as 12 projects under development. RioCan continues to benefit as the economy re-opens. Its occupancy rate as of June 30, 2022, was 97.2%, up from 96.1% a year earlier. As well, its average rent per square foot in the second quarter of 2022 rose 1.7%. Those factors lifted revenue in the quarter by 3.6%, to $308.4 million from $297.7 million a year earlier. Cash flow per unit also improved 10.0%, to $0.44 from $0.40. With the March 2022 payment, RioCan increased your monthly distribution by 6.3%, to $0.085 a unit from $0.08. The new annual rate of $1.02 yields a high 4.9%. In the 12 months ended June 30, 2022, the trust paid out…