Two REITs for income and growth

Article Excerpt

RIOCAN REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $23.94 (Toronto symbol REI.UN; Units outstanding: 250.9 million; Market cap: $6.0 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 5.8%; www.riocan.com) is Canada’s largest real estate investment trust (REIT). It has interests in 297 shopping malls in Canada, including 10 under development. These properties contain over 70 million square feet of leaseable area. The trust has a 97.4% occupancy rate. RioCan also owns stakes in 31 malls in the U.S. through joint ventures. As well, it owns 14% of Cedar Shopping Centers, a U.S. REIT that owns malls anchored by supermarkets and drug stores, mainly in the northeastern U.S. In the three months ended December 31, 2010, RioCan’s revenue rose 21.7% to $222.8 million from $183.1 million a year earlier. Cash flow per unit rose 25%, to $0.35 from $0.28. RioCan’s units yield 5.8%. This year, RioCan will focus on expanding further into the U.S., where it sees a lot of undervalued properties. Right now, its malls are concentrated in…