These top REITs have growth ahead

Article Excerpt

ALLIED PROPERTIES REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $38.92 (Toronto symbol AP.UN; Units outstanding: 84.9 million; Market cap: $3.3 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 3.9%; www. alliedreit.com) owns 156 office buildings, mainly in major Canadian cities. Most of those properties are classified as Class I buildings, and together they comprise over 11.7 million square feet of leasable area. Class I refers to 19thand early-20th-century industrial buildings that are now used as office space. They often have exposed beams and brick walls, and hardwood floors. Allied continues to grow steadily by acquisition. In 2016, it spent $376.7 million on seven properties in major Canadian cities, including Calgary and Toronto. In the first quarter of 2017, it spent $14.0 million on two properties. Altogether, the new buildings helped raise the trust’s revenue by 8.8% for the quarter ended March 31, 2017, to $102.1 million from $93.8 million a year earlier. Cash flow rose 8.0%, to $34.1 million from $31.6 million. Cash flow per unit was…