Updating your Cyclical-Growth Payers: RioCan

Article Excerpt

RIOCAN REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $17 is a buy. The REIT (Toronto symbol REI.UN; Cyclical-Growth Dividend Payer Portfolio, Manufacturing sector; Units outstanding: 317.7 million; Market cap: $5.4 billion; Dividend yield: 5.6%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Average; www.riocan.com) owns all or part of 221 shopping centres and other properties across Canada. They include 15 projects under development. Due to a new wave of COVID-19 shutdowns for Ontario retailers, RioCan is cutting its monthly distribution by 33.3%. Starting with the February 2021 payment, investors will receive $0.08 a unit instead of $0.12. The new annual rate of $0.96 yields 5.6%. Shutdowns are also why RioCan’s revenue in the third quarter of 2020 fell 14.6%, to $302.3 million from $353.9 million a year earlier. Overall cash flow fell 9.8%, to $129.0 million from $1443.0 million. The REIT sold units to finance new projects. As a result, cash flow per unit fell 12.8%, to $0.41 from $0.47. However, the REIT’s average rent per square foot rose by 1.7% in the quarter, to $19.82…