Topic: How To Invest

Hi Pat: May I have your analysis on Plazacorp Retail Properties? Thank you.

Article Excerpt

Plazacorp Retail Properties Ltd., $4.24, symbol PLZ on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 87.7 million; Market cap: $372.0 million; www.plaza.ca), owns strip malls and enclosed shopping malls across Canada. Plazacorp owns interests in 347 properties, which together contain 6.6 million square feet of leasable area. On July 2, 2013, the company’s shares moved from the TSX Venture Exchange to the Toronto exchange. In June 2013, Plazacorp completed its acquisition of KEYreit, which held 228 retail properties, mainly in western Canada. The company paid $121.9 million in cash ($62.1 million) and shares ($59.8 million) in shares for KEYreit. Even after this purchase, the Atlantic provinces still account for 61% of the company’s square footage, followed by Quebec (26%), Ontario (11%) and western Canada (2%). The trust’s occupancy rate is 94.5% at the strip malls and 91.4% at the enclosed malls. National and regional chains, such as Shoppers Drug Mart, Dollarama and Staples, account for 92.5% of the Plazacorp’s tenants. Thanks partly to the new KEYreit properties,…