These high yields look safe despite COVID-19

Article Excerpt

The COVID-19 pandemic forced many businesses to temporarily shut down. That hurt rent collections for REITs, and cut the cash available for distributions. However, the payments from these two REITs still look safe thanks to their high-quality properties and tenants. CHOICE PROPERTIES REIT $13 is a top pick for 2020. The REIT (Toronto symbol CHP.UN; Cyclical-Growth Payer Portfolio; Manufacturing sector; Units o/s: 700.4 million; Market cap: $9.1 billion; Dividend yield: 5.7%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Above Average; www.choicereit.ca) owns 724 properties with a total of 65.6 million square feet of retail, industrial, office and residential space. Its occupancy rate is a high 96.8%. George Weston Ltd. (Toronto symbol WN) owns 62.9% of the trust. Choice pays monthly distributions of $0.061667 a unit. The annual rate of $0.74 provides a high yield of 5.7%. In the second quarter ended June 30, 2020, the REIT collected 89% of its rental payments (88% from its retail properties, 97% from industrial buildings and 89% from offices). Through the first 20 days of…