These REITs take different paths to growth

Article Excerpt

ALLIED PROPERTIES REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $41.12 (Toronto symbol AP.UN; Units outstanding: 92.7 million; Market cap: $3.8 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 3.8%; www. alliedreit.com) owns 157 office buildings, mainly in major Canadian cities. Most of those properties are classified as Class I buildings. Together, 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 exposed beams and brick walls, and hardwood floors. Allied continues to grow steadily by acquisition. In 2016, it spent $376.7 million on seven properties in major Canadian cities, including Calgary and Toronto. In the first three quarters of 2017, it spent $76.5 million on three properties. Altogether, new buildings helped raise the trust’s revenue by 9.9% for the quarter ended September 30, 2017, to $106.3 million from $96.7 million a year earlier. Cash flow rose 6.5%, to $33.9 million from $31.8 million, while cash flow per unit…