Topic: How To Invest

Canadian Apartment Properties REIT pays a high dividend and looks like a good buy. What do you think? Thanks for all your advice.

Article Excerpt

Canadian Apartment Properties REIT, $23.72, symbol CAR.UN on Toronto (Units outstanding: 93.2 million; Market cap: $2.2 billion; www.capreit.net), is a real estate investment trust that owns multi-unit residential properties, including apartment buildings and townhouses. In all, CAP REIT owns 30,878 residential suites. Ontario accounts for 65.7% of its holdings, followed by Quebec (16.6%), B.C. (8.9%), Alberta (4.5%), Nova Scotia (3.5%) and Saskatchewan (0.8%). In the three months ended March 31, 2012, CAP REIT sold a 136-suite apartment building in Toronto for $17.5 million. Even without this building’s contribution, the trust’s revenue rose 10.3% in the quarter, to $95.3 million from $86.3 million a year earlier. That’s mainly due to acquisitions that CAP REIT made in 2011, plus a 1.6% rise in average monthly rents. Its occupancy rate was unchanged at 98.3%. Cash flow rose 19.8%, to $26.5 million from $22.1 million. Cash flow per unit rose 6.7%, to $0.32 from $0.30, on more units outstanding. The trust pays a monthly distribution of $0.09 a..