Topic: How To Invest

Dividend Advisor Hotline – Friday, April 28, 2023

Article Excerpt

CHOICE PROPERTIES REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST, $14.64, is a top pick for 2023. Choice is Canada’s biggest REIT, with 703 retail, industrial and residential properties totalling 64.2 million square feet of gross leasable area. Its occupancy rate is a high 97.7%. George Weston Ltd. (Toronto symbol WN) owns 61.7% of the trust. Starting with the April 17, 2023, payment, the REIT raised your monthly distribution by 1.4%. Investors now receive $0.0625 a unit instead of $0.061667. The new annual rate of $0.75 yields a high 5.1%. During the quarter ended March 31, 2023, the REIT opened four new properties worth $10.6 million. It also sold two properties for $53.0 million. As a result, Choice’s revenue rose 0.4% in the quarter, to $229.4 million from $228.5 million a year earlier. As well, cash flow increased 1.0%, to $176.9 million from $175.1 million; cash flow per unit gained just 0.8%, to $0.244 from $0.242, due to more units outstanding. The REIT is now developing 14 new properties:…