Topic: How To Invest

CANADIAN REIT $44.60 – Toronto symbol REF.UN

CANADIAN REIT $44.60 (Toronto symbol REF.UN; Units outstanding: 69.0 million; Market cap: $3.1 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 3.9%; www.creit.ca) owns 198 properties, including retail, industrial and office buildings, across Canada and in Chicago. These holdings contain over 24.0 million square feet of leasable area. The trust’s occupancy rate is 95.5%.

In the three months ended December 31, 2013, Canadian REIT’s revenue rose 8.6%, to $106.7 million from $98.2 million a year earlier. Cash flow per unit gained 7.5%, to $0.72 from $0.67.

Canadian REIT added $191.1 million worth of new buildings in 2013. That followed property purchases totalling $401.9 million in 2012, including a 50% stake in Calgary Place, a 575,000-square-foot office and retail complex, for $156.0 million.

The trust raised its distribution in February 2014. It now pays $0.1458 monthly, up 6.0% from $0.1375. That gives Canadian REIT a 3.9% yield.

The REIT’s broad diversification cuts its risk. It has 36% of its assets in Alberta, followed by Ontario, 30%; Atlantic Canada, 15%; Quebec, 11%; B.C., 6%; the Prairies, 1%; and the U.S., 1%. Shopping malls account for 55% of its properties, followed by industrial (24%) and office (21%).

Canadian REIT is still a buy.
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LOBLAW COS. $46.81 (Toronto symbol L; Shares outstanding: 282.3 million; Market cap: $13.2 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 2.0%; www.loblaw.ca) continues to expand its Joe Fresh business, which makes casual clothing, shoes and accessories.

Loblaw mainly sells these goods in over 300 of its supermarkets and through 22 stand-alone stores in the U.S. and Canada.

The company plans to take advantage of the brand’s popularity by opening 140 more Joe Fresh stores in 23 countries outside North America in the next four years. Loblaw will team up with local partners to build and operate these outlets, which limits the risk of expanding in unfamiliar markets.

Loblaw is a buy.

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