Two trusts: one buy, one hold

Article Excerpt

DUNDEE REIT $15.56 (Toronto symbol D.UN; SI Rating: Speculative) (416-365-3535; www.dundeereit.com; Shares outstanding: 17.3 million; Market cap: $269 million) owns and operates seven million square feet of office, industrial and retail space, including 43 office buildings and 36 industrial properties. Western Canada represents 85% of its square footage. GE Real Estate owns a 15% voting interest in Dundee REIT, and Dundee Corp. owns 22%. The best measure of operating performance for a real-estate company is cash flow, and Dundee’s cash flow per share rose 18%, to $0.59 from $0.50, in the three months ended March 31, 2009. Its revenue rose 13.5%, to $50 million from $44 million a year earlier. The improved results mostly came from higher rents. Dundee raised its rents an average of 10.1% in the latest quarter, to $15.55 per square foot. As well, many of the leases on Dundee’s properties are coming up for renewal, and as these mature, the company is profiting from higher leasing rates. Dundee’s…