Leon’s unlocks value with REIT plan

Article Excerpt

LEON’S FURNITURE LTD. $22 is a buy for aggressive investors. The retailer (Toronto symbol LNF; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 68.0 million; Market cap: $1.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.6; Dividend yield: 3.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.leons.ca) sells furniture and appliances through 303 stores, mainly under the Leon’s and The Brick banners. The stock has gained 30% since it announced in May 2023 that it will transfer its real estate holdings to a real estate investment trust (REIT). It plans to either hand out units in the REIT to its shareholders, or sell units to the public through an initial public offering. However, the company will wait until interest rates decline before proceeding with the spinoff. Regardless, Leon’s will retain majority interest in the REIT. Despite that gain, the stock still trades at an attractive 10.7 times the $2.06 a share that Leon’s will probably earn in 2024. As well, with the January 2024 payment, the company raised your quarterly dividend by 12.5%. The…