There’s more to come from these REITs

Article Excerpt

ALLIED PROPERTIES REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $34 (Toronto symbol AP.UN; High-Growth Dividend Payer Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Units outstanding: 84.7 million; Market cap: $2.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 7.6; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 4.4%; www.alliedreit.com) owns 148 office buildings in Canada. Its occupancy rate is 91.3%. These mainly Class I properties contain over 10.5 million square feet of leasable area. Class I refers to 19th- and early-20th-century industrial buildings that have been converted to retail space. They usually feature exposed beams, interior brick and hardwood floors. Allied raised its monthly distribution by 2.8% with the January 2016 payment, to $0.125 from $0.1216. The annualized distribution of $1.50 per unit yields 4.4%. The trust pays out about 67% of its cash flow as distributions. Allied has increased its payout every year since it first sold units to the public and began trading in February 2003 at $10 per unit. The REIT paid $1.10 per unit in 2003. In 2015, 66.6% of Allied’s…