These office REITs have sustainable payouts

Article Excerpt

Demand for office space is rebounding as more companies unwind their work-from-home policies for employees. That should support the payouts of both these REITs. ALLIED PROPERTIES REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $18, is a buy. The REIT (Toronto symbol AP.UN; Cyclical-Growth Dividend Payer Portfolio, Manufacturing sector; Units outstanding: 128.0 million; Market cap: $2.3 billion; Distribution yield: 10.0%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Above Average; www.alliedreit.com) owns 188 office buildings and nine properties under development. All are in seven urban markets: Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Kitchener, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver. The overall occupancy rate is 87.2%. Allied last raised your monthly distribution with the January 2023 payment by 2.9%. The current annual rate of $1.80 a unit yields a very high 10.0%. Since the start of 2024, Allied has sold $75 million worth of its less-important properties. It expect to sell a further $156 million of assets by the end of the year, for total proceeds of $231 million. That’s more than its $200 million target. In 2025, it expects to sell…