Strong cash flows keep their payouts high

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ALLIED PROPERTIES REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $35.46 (Toronto symbol AP.UN; Units outstanding: 74.6 million; Market cap: $2.7 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 4.0%; www.alliedreit.com) owns 138 office buildings, mostly in major Canadian cities. These mainly Class I properties contain over 9.9 million square feet of leasable area. Class I refers to 19th- and early-20th-century light industrial buildings that have been converted to retail space. They usually feature exposed beams, interior brick and hardwood floors. Allied bought $400 million of properties in 2012 and $182.4 million worth in 2013. In the first half of 2014, it added six more for $110.0 million. The trust’s new buildings helped raise its revenue by 9.8% in the quarter ended June 30, 2014, to $80.6 million from $73.4 million a year earlier. Cash flow per unit gained 6.3%, to $0.51 from $0.48. In July 2012, Allied entered into a joint venture with RioCan REIT to buy buildings in urban areas that the partners…