Diversified REITs with strong prospects

Article Excerpt

ALLIED PROPERTIES REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $29.35 (Toronto symbol AP.UN; Units outstanding: 55.9 million; Market cap: $1.6 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 4.5%; www.alliedpropertiesreit.com) owns 100 office buildings, mostly in major Canadian cities. These mainly Class I properties contain over 7.8 million square feet of leasable area. Class I refers to 19th- and early-20th-century light industrial buildings that have been converted to office and retail space. They usually feature exposed beams, interior brick and hardwood floors. In 2011, the trust bought 22 properties for $456 million. In the first quarter of 2012, it bought 10 more buildings for $185.2 million. It now has 53 properties in Toronto (which contain 41.0% of Allied’s leasable area); 15 in Montreal (34.6%); 11 in Calgary (5.9%); six in Winnipeg (5.0%); five in Quebec City (2.4%); four in Vancouver/Victoria (3.5%); two in Edmonton (3.6%); one in Ottawa (2.8%); and one in Kitchener- Waterloo (1.2%). The trust has an occupancy rate of 91.9%. These new properties helped increase…