Two REITs with growth ahead

Article Excerpt

H&R REIT $21.55 (Toronto symbol HR.UN; Units outstanding: 283.0 million; Market cap: $6.1 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 6.3%; www.hr-reit.com) owns or has a stake in 518 office buildings, industrial properties and shopping malls in Canada and the U.S. In all, these holdings include 47.1 million square feet of leasable space. Last year, the trust sold part of its stake in 101 industrial properties, or a total of 19.5 million square feet, for $731 million. The Canadian Public Sector Pension Investment Board was one of the buyers. H&R has 50% interest in the Canadian properties and a 49.5% stake in its U.S. portfolio. The trust continues to manage these assets and receives fees for doing so. It maintains full ownership of 14 other industrial properties. H&R is putting the sales proceeds into an equal partnership it formed with U.S. real estate firm Tishman Speyer in June 2014. Under the deal, the two companies are building a $1.2 billion…