Topic: How To Invest

I would appreciate your comments on Digital Realty Trust and PennantPark Investment Corp.

Article Excerpt

Digital Realty Trust Inc., $58.48, symbol DLR on New York (Units outstanding: 128.6 million; Market cap: $7.9 billion; www.digitalrealty.com), is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, acquires, develops and manages technology-related properties. The trust’s assets include Internet data centres, properties containing servers and other equipment for cloud computing and manufacturing plants for products like computer chips and pharmaceuticals. Its buildings have typically undergone extensive improvements—mostly paid for by tenants—to meet demanding power and cooling requirements. Digital Realty owns 131 properties, of which 92 are located in North America, 21 are in Europe, three are in Australia and one is in Asia. Its occupancy rate is 92.6%. The trust is currently searching for a new CEO. Its previous chief executive, Michael Foust, resigned after Digital Realty’s units performed poorly in 2013, dropping from almost $70 at the start of the year to under $45 by the end. The REIT’s success is highly dependent on demand for data centres. However, use of cloud computing,…