Topic: How To Invest

Hi, Pat: What do you think about Cominar REIT? Do you think this company can sustain its high dividend? Thank you

Article Excerpt

: Cominar REIT, $16.28, symbol CUF.UN on Toronto (Units outstanding: 169.0 million; Market cap: $2.8 billion; www.cominar.com), is Quebec’s largest owner of commercial properties. In all, the trust holds 567 properties, including 136 office buildings, 196 shopping malls and 235 industrial and mixed-use buildings. In all, these holdings contain 46.0 million square feet of leasable space located in Montreal (57%), Quebec City (22%), Ontario (13%), the Atlantic provinces (6%) and Western Canada (2%). Cominar’s occupancy rate is 92.3%. The trust continues to grow by acquisition: in 2014, it bought 66 properties for a total of $2.0 billion, then added three more industrial buildings in Montreal for $34.5 million in the first half of this year. Contributions from new properties increased Cominar’s revenue by 26.3% in the three months ended June 30, 2015, to $226.9 million from $179.6 million a year earlier. Cash flow rose 28.4%, to $65.7 million…