This slimmed-down REIT is poised to reward investors

Article Excerpt

Investors in Dream Office REIT have seen a whopping 30% gain in the past year. That caps off your 110% gain in under 4 years. Just as inpressive for income investors—if not more so—is the REIT’s dividend now yielding an enviable 3.2% despite that solid share price growth. Still, make no mistake, we believe much higher returns lie ahead for you. That’s because the REIT recently completed a major transformation of its operations. As a result, it focuses on office building in the Greater Toronto Area and other big urban centres with lower vacancies and higher rents. Those key markets now account for 86.5% of its portfolio. As part of the new strategy, Dream Office sold over 140 properties for $4.0 billion. Those sales, and the resulting drop in cash flow, meant the REIT’s prudent managers cut its distribution payout by a third. However, the new strategy puts it on a much stronger growth path—one that should soon translate into higher dividends…