Bright prospects for both parent and spinoff

Article Excerpt

The market plunge at the start of the COVID-19 crisis lowered the unit price of most REITs. That’s because the pandemic forced many businesses—and REIT tenants—to temporarily close. However, the pandemic has waned, and rental markets are recovering. That will let these two REITs maintain, or even raise, their current high distributions. H&R REIT, $11.21, is a buy. Through your units in this REIT (Toronto symbol HR.UN; Units o/s: 266.3 million; Market cap: $3.0 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 4.9%; www.hr-reit.com) you tap income from 416 properties: 27 office buildings, 286 retail developments, 71 industrial buildings and 24 residential properties. The trust’s overall occupancy rate is a high 95.8%. H&R recently spun off most of its retail properties, including all of its enclosed shopping malls, to a new publicly traded REIT called Primaris. The spinoff is part of H&R’s new strategy to focus on its more-promising residential and industrial properties in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, and U.S. Sun Belt and Gateway cities (home…