RioCan’s urban focus is paying off

Article Excerpt

In October 2017, RioCan shifted its focus away from Big Box style suburban malls to properties in the downtown areas of six major cities: Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver. Those cities now supply 92% of its rental revenue, up from 76% in 2017. RioCan is also diversifying its operations with new developments that include retail, office and residential space. We feel the REIT’s new strategy will continue to benefit investors as more and more consumers return to shopping malls in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, RioCan’s high-quality properties and tenants should let it keep raising your distributions. RIOCAN REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $20 is a buy. The REIT (Toronto symbol REI.UN; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Units outstanding: 300.4 million; Market cap: $6.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 4.9; Distribution yield: 5.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.riocan.com) owns all or part of 191 shopping centres and other properties across Canada for an aggregate net leasable area of 33.5 million square feet; it also…