Stock Talk - Real Estate Investment Trusts

A look at the top-performing REITS based on CPMS models.

Ashley Redmond 26 March, 2012 | 1:00PM
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Ashley Redmond: Welcome back to Stock Talk, and for this month's edition we're going to focus on Real Estate Investment Trusts also known as REITs. They've been in the news a lot lately, mostly because they've been performing so well in the last couple of years and beat analyst expectations on more than one occasion.

Sabeen Saeed: Yeah. We've seen some very strong performance by Canadian REITs recently, with the Canadian REIT Total Return Index up 6.22% year-to-date, and up 12.58% in 2011.

Redmond: And plus we've had a lot of requests asking us what the best REIT to invest in really is.

Saeed: Yeah. So, this month I ran a screen looking at REITs in the CPMS database with a minimum market float of $500 million, and an expected yield of at least 2%. Stocks were ranked on their expected yield long-term and expected dividend growth, earnings variability, and estimate revisions over the past 30 days.

Redmond: Great, and just a reminder, Sabeen is using CPMS, which is Morningstar's quantitative equity research service utilized by fund managers across the country. So, Sabeen, is there anything for investors to keep in mind before you reveal the top 10 stocks.

Saeed: Well, when running the screen I also capped the payout ratio on expected cash flow at 80%. This basically means that no stock on this list is paying out more than 80% of the cash flow its generating from its properties. Looking at cash flow in addition to earnings when analyzing REITs provides a much clearer picture. Since it's a stream of income from these underlying properties, it's essentially financing the dividend payout.

Redmond: So, I'm sure everyone watching wants to know what were the top 10 stocks.

Saeed: The top 10 stocks were H&R REIT, Allied Properties REIT, Morguard REIT, Dundee REIT, Canadian Apartment Property REIT, Northern Property REIT, Canadian REIT, Boardwalk REIT, Chartwell Seniors REIT, and InnVest REIT.

Redmond: So, for investors, who are holding these stocks in their portfolio or even thinking of adding them to their portfolio, how is the dividend yield?

Saeed: Well, the stocks on this list have an expected yield ranging from 3.4% to 7.4%, so we're definitely looking at some names that would add income to your portfolio, and REITs really provide a very accessible way of getting into real estate if you don't currently hold some in your portfolio.

Redmond: Great. Thanks so much, Sabeen.

Saeed: Thank you.

Redmond: Stay tuned next month for another segment, and just a reminder, Sabeen is not providing financial advice and we encourage you to speak with a financial planner or advisor before selecting stocks. CPMS software is only available to institutional clients and investment advisors. However, you can use Morningstar.ca, and use the free search box at the top of the screen.

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Ashley Redmond

Ashley Redmond  Ashley Redmond is a Vancouver-based freelance writer.

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