Two top REITs for growth and income

Article Excerpt

CANADIAN REIT $41.74 (Toronto symbol REF.UN; Units outstanding: 72.9 million; Market cap: $3.0 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 4.3%; www.creit.ca) owns 198 properties, including retail, industrial and office buildings, across Canada and in Chicago. These holdings contain 24.9 million square feet of leasable area. The trust’s occupancy rate is 94.7%. In the three months ended September 30, 2015, Canadian REIT’s revenue rose 4.5%, to $109.5 million from $104.8 million a year earlier. Cash flow per unit gained 2.7%, to $0.76 from $0.74. The trust aims to grow mostly by developing its own properties rather than through large acquisitions. Over the next few years, it’s spending $660 million to add 3.1 million square feet of space. To cut its risk, Canadian REIT takes on partners to help carry out big projects. The units trade at 13.6 times the trust’s forecast 2016 cash flow of $3.08 a unit. It raised its quarterly distribution by 2.9% with the July 2015 payment,…