Topic: How To Invest

Dividend Advisor Hotline – Friday, July 28, 2023

Article Excerpt

CHOICE PROPERTIES REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST, $13.81, is a top pick for 2023. Choice is Canada’s biggest REIT, with 702 retail, industrial and residential properties totalling 63.8 million square feet of gross leasable area. Its occupancy rate is a high 97.4%. George Weston Ltd. (Toronto symbol WN) owns 61.7% of the trust. With the April 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 5.4%. Choice’s revenue rose 5.5% in the quarter ended June 30, 2023, to $330.3 million from $313.1 million a year earlier. That’s due to the completion of new projects and rent increases at its retail and industrial properties. As well, cash flow increased 1.0%, to $183.6 million from $175.3 million; cash flow per unit gained just 0.8%, to $0.254 from $0.242, due to more units outstanding. The REIT is now developing 20 new properties (14 retail, 4 industrial and 2 residential) at a..