These REITs offer very attractive yields

Article Excerpt

While rising interest rates have increased the appeal of bonds and hurt REITs in the past year, Choice Properties and H&R remain excellent ways for investors to earn income. We see both as buys. CHOICE PROPERTIES REIT, $12.88, is a buy. Canada’s biggest REIT (Toronto symbol CHP.UN; Units o/s: 327.9 million; Market cap: $9.4 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 5.8%; www.choicereit.ca) owns 704 retail, industrial, office space and residential properties with 64.2 million square feet of gross leasable area. Its occupancy rate is a high 97.7%. George Weston Ltd. (Toronto symbol WN) owns 61.7% of the trust. Choice’s rental revenue rose 5.2% in the quarter ended September 30, 2023, to $325.1 million from $309.1 million a year earlier. That’s due to the completion of new projects and rent increases at its retail and industrial properties. As well, cash flow increased 4.6%, to $0.25 a unit (or a total of $181.0 million) from $0.239 a unit (or $173.1 million). The REIT is now developing 19 new properties (14…