Topic: How To Invest

Hi Pat: I was wondering, what are your thoughts on Cominar REIT? Thanks.

Article Excerpt

Cominar REIT, $19.28, symbol CUF.UN on Toronto (Units outstanding: 128.2 million; Market cap: $2.5 billion; www.cominar.com), is Quebec’s largest commercial property owner. In all, Cominar holds 526 properties, including 132 office buildings, 164 shopping malls and 230 industrial and mixed-use buildings. These properties contain 39.5 million square feet of leasable space located in Montreal (57%), Quebec City (21%), Ontario (12%), the Atlantic provinces (7%) and Western Canada (3%). Cominar’s occupancy rate is 93.9%. The trust continues to grow by acquisition. In the first half of 2014, it bought 30 properties for $358 million. That increased Cominar’s leasable space by 2.5 million square feet, of which 2.0 million is in the Greater Toronto Area. Contributions from these new properties pushed up the trust’s revenue by 7.0% in the three months ended June 30, 2104, to $179.6 million from $167.8 million a year earlier. Cash flow rose 7.1%, to $51.2 million from $47.8 million, and cash flow per unit gained 5.3%, to $0.40 from $0.38,…