Two high-yield REITs with gains ahead

Article Excerpt

The market plunge at the start of the COVID-19 crisis lowered prices for most REITs. That’s because the pandemic forced many businesses to temporarily close. However, vaccines should see the economy increasingly normalize in the next several months. That will let these two REITs maintain their current distributions, or even raise them. CHOICE PROPERTIES REIT, $15.18, is a buy. Canada’s biggest REIT (Toronto symbol CHP.UN; Units outstanding: 722.7 million; Market cap: $10.8 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 4.9%; www.choicereit.ca) creates value for investors through its 730 properties, with a total of 66.2 million square feet of retail, industrial and office space. The trust’s occupancy rate is a high 96.9%. George Weston Ltd. (Toronto symbol WN) owns 61.8% of outstanding units. Choice continues to perform well despite COVID-19. That’s because supermarket operator Loblaw (Toronto symbol L), which is also controlled by George Weston, as well as other “essential” retailers like Dollarama and Sobeys, contribute over 80% of Choice’s rents. As a result, revenue rose by 2.3%…