Quality buys pay off for these REITs

Article Excerpt

RIOCAN REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $27.54 (Toronto symbol REI.UN; Units outstanding: 324.7 million; Market cap: $9.0 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 5.1%; www.riocan.com) is Canada’s largest real estate investment trust. For the three months ended June 30, 2016, cash flow per share was $118.0 million, or $0.37 a share. That’s up 8.1% from $109.2, or $0.34 a share, a year earlier. The trust continues to acquire high-quality properties across Canada—since September 2015 it has spent $1.1 billion. This includes taking 100% ownership of four properties in B.C., Alberta and Ontario by buying out its joint venture partner, the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board. RioCan can well afford these purchases. In May 2016 it completed the sale of its U.S. properties for $1.2 billion. Their value has risen with the U.S. dollar and the country’s recovering economy. Those recent sales and purchases are part of the trust’s plan to focus on Canada’s six largest markets: Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton…