Now’s a good time to buy these REITs

Article Excerpt

The market plunge in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis lowered prices for most REITs. That’s because the pandemic forced many businesses to temporarily close. This hurt rent collection for REITs, and cut cash available for distributions. However, these two REITs remain attractive thanks to their high-quality properties and tenants. RIOCAN REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST, $17.74, is a buy. The REIT (Toronto symbol REI.UN; Units o/s: 317.7 million; Market cap: $5.7 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Divd. yield: 5.4%; www.riocan.com) offers you a stake in 221 shopping centres and other properties across Canada. They include 15 projects under development. In all, RioCan controls 38.4 million square feet of rentable space. Its overall occupancy rate is a high 96.4%. The REIT is now cutting its monthly distribution by 33.3%. Starting with the February 2021 payment, investors will receive $0.08 a unit instead of $0.12. The new annual rate of $0.96 will nonetheless yield a high 5.4%. CEO Ed Sonshine recently reassured investors that the previous monthly…