Category: REIT

March 13, 2021 General Ag News and Notes, REIT, Stock Market Post a Comment

10 Best Dividend Stocks For 2021

Insider Monkey –
by Fahad Saleem –

8. Realty Income Corporation (NYSE: O) –
Dividend Yield: 4.55% –
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 24 –

Realty Income Corporation is one of the best dividend stocks to for 2021. The REIT buys and sells properties, and offers services like portfolio management, asset management, credit and real estate research. The company in February said that it expects strong acquisition volume of more than $3.25 billion, or $3.44-$3.49 per share in terms of FFO, in 2021, above the average analyst estimate of $3.43. The company recently bought a 21-asset gas station and convenience store portfolio in Hawaii from Par Pacific Holdings for $109.4 million.

With a $61.4 million stake in Realty Income Corp., Two Sigma Advisors owns 987,364 shares of the company as of the end of the fourth quarter of 2020. Our database shows that 24 hedge funds held stakes in Realty Income Corp. as of the end of the fourth quarter.

December 2, 2020 General Ag News and Notes, REIT, Stock Market Post a Comment

American Assets Trust Inc (AAT) Chairman, CEO & President Ernest S Rady Bought $1.5 million of Shares

GuruFocus –

Chairman, CEO & President of American Assets Trust Inc (30-Year Financial, Insider Trades) Ernest S Rady (insider trades) bought 50,089 shares of AAT on 12/01/2020 at an average price of $28.99 a share. The total cost of this purchase was $1.5 million.

American Assets Trust Inc is a self-administered real estate investment trust based in the United States. The company mainly invests in, operates, and develops retail, office, residential, and mixed-use properties in California, Oregon, and Hawaii. American Assets Trust Inc has a market cap of $1.79 billion; its shares were traded at around $29.67 with a P/E ratio of 47.09 and P/S ratio of 6.23. The dividend yield of American Assets Trust Inc stocks is 3.55%. American Assets Trust Inc had annual average EBITDA growth of 4.80% over the past ten years.

CEO Recent Trades:

Chairman, CEO & President, 10% Owner Ernest S Rady bought 50,089 shares of AAT stock on 12/01/2020 at the average price of $28.99. The price of the stock has increased by 2.35% since.
Chairman, CEO & President, 10% Owner Ernest S Rady bought 2,194 shares of AAT stock on 11/20/2020 at the average price of $28.77. The price of the stock has increased by 3.13% since.
Chairman, CEO & President, 10% Owner Ernest S Rady bought 54,994 shares of AAT stock on 11/11/2020 at the average price of $25.72. The price of the stock has increased by 15.36% since.
Chairman, CEO & President, 10% Owner Ernest S Rady bought 130,000 shares of AAT stock on 11/06/2020 at the average price of $21.49. The price of the stock has increased by 38.06% since.
Chairman, CEO & President, 10% Owner Ernest S Rady bought 175,739 shares of AAT stock on 11/04/2020 at the average price of $21.64. The price of the stock has increased by 37.11% since.

November 19, 2020 General Ag News and Notes, REIT Post a Comment

Industrial Logistics Properties Trust: You Can Relax With This Income REIT

Seeking Alpha –

Summary –

  • Occupancy in the company’s Hawaii properties has not fallen below 98% since 2003. Hawaii’s land development is limited by its geography.
  • E-commerce will act as a tailwind for the company’s properties. The company has been pretty aggressive having acquired over $1 billion worth of properties since 2019.
  • The company currently has a forward yield of 5.9% which is great in this low-interest-rate environment.

I wanted to explore income-generating REITs to add more cash flow into my portfolio. I wanted REITs that could do well in the new post-COVID environment so I have purposefully stayed away from retail and offices in certain geographies. I think Industrial Logistics Properties Trust (ILPT) with its decent yield and solid business is one to consider.

Just a brief background on the company, Industrial Logistics Properties Trust is a REIT that, as it’s named, focuses on industrial and logistics properties. The company owns 301 properties (43.8 million square feet) in Hawaii and 75 properties (27 million square feet) in 30 other states. Given the current economic uncertainty, I typically check the distribution of lease expirations of a REIT’s customer base. The good news is that the bulk of the company’s shorter-term lease, roughly 17% of revenue, is expiring all the way to 2024. Only 5.1%, 8.2%, and 6.4% of the company’s leases in terms of annualized rental revenue are expiring in 2021, 2022, and 2023 respectively. As of September 2020, the company’s properties were 98.8% leased with an average remaining lease term of 9 years. This is good news for the company as it would not have to negotiate and set lease in the middle of the coronavirus induced recession. The company currently has a vacancy rate of 1.2% which is impressive given the impact the coronavirus pandemic had on retail establishments.

The company’s properties are typically service/distribution centers and warehouses. Examining the company’s client exposure risk, we can see that its properties are rented out to 264 clients. Amazon (AMZN), FedEx (FDX), and P&G (PG) being the largest at 15.9%, 3.7%, and 3.7% of annualized 2020 revenues. Investment-grade tenants make up 64.4% of annualized rental revenues from the company’s mainland properties ensuring the credit safety of the company’s revenue stream. The company’s customer list is pretty impressive as it has the logistics departments of several well-known corporations. The company is also well-diversified as its top 25 clients only make up 53.6% of the company’s annualized 2020 revenue. This means that the loss of a single client would have minimal impact on the firm.

As of September 2020, the company’s non-Hawaii based properties made up 59.3% of annualized rental revenue. The remaining amount 40.7% of revenue is from the company’s Hawaii properties. Surprisingly, the company’s Hawaii footprint is actually an asset for the company. My initial worry was that rents could be unstable as the Hawaiian economy is very dependent on tourism which tends to be cyclical. The reverse is true actually as occupancy in these properties has not fallen below 98% since 2003. The reason I believe is that Hawaii’s land development is limited by its geography. Regardless of the current economic situation, industrial and logistic properties are still needed to move goods to the people who live there. It just so happens that there is limited ability to relocate to an alternative location.

The Hawaii properties are interesting as the company doesn’t really own the land but rather the company leases it from the state. In fact, 90.6% of Hawaiian properties based on annualized revenues are from lease lands. These leases are reset every 10 years or so and the increases are based on fair market values. The company generally is able to pass on those increases to its customers but given the economic situation, this assumption could be at risk.

With regard to short-term results, Industrial Logistics Properties Trust had a decent quarter. Revenue (i.e. Rental Income) for Q3 2020 vs. Q3 2019 increased by 4.3% on a comparable property level. Year to date results were similar to comparable property. Rental income grew by 4.4% compared to the same time last year. Overall, YTD revenues were up by 16.4% to $194.5 million due to some property acquisitions the company had done for the year. Comparable property operating income only rose by 2.6% YTD due to an increase in Real Estate taxes. Net income for the nine months ended September 2020 was $41.8 million, or $0.64 per share, which is more or less the same compared to $40.8 million or $0.63 per share earned for the same time last year. Normalized FFO was $1.40 per share.

These results demonstrate the resiliency of the company’s business model. This is not particularly surprising as even during the height of the coronavirus lockdowns industrial activity and logistics never stopped. In fact, the company believes that e-commerce, which has been boosted by the coronavirus lockdowns, will increase demand for industrial and logistics space up to 3x when compared to retail sales from brick and mortar stores. This will stimulate demand for the company’s properties and create a favorable investment environment. The company has been pretty aggressive investing in this space as well having acquired over $1 billion worth of properties since 2019.

Financial Analysis and Conclusion

In terms of valuation, for REITs, I check the leverage and coverage measures as those are important indicators of a company’s financial flexibility and long-term viability. The total liabilities/total assets percentage is an indicator of debt serviceability and leverage. Industrial Logistics Properties Trust has total liabilities/total assets of 56.8% and a Net Debt level to annualized EBITDA of 7.3x. These measures indicate an above-average level of debt.

The fixed charge coverage ratio is an indicator of a firm’s ability to pay interest from its operating performance and is defined as net operating income divided by interest expense, preferred dividends, and other required distributions. The company had YTD interest expense of $40.6 million and no other required distributions. Using the company’s YTD adjusted EBITDA of $137.2 million, we can calculate an interest coverage ratio of 3.38x. This ratio is about average for a REIT.

REITs are required to distribute most of their taxable net income to shareholders through dividend payments. The dividend payout ratio (“Dividends/FFO”) is calculated in order to check if the REIT can meet this obligation moving forward. Based on the company’s financials, for the nine-month YTD, the company had an FFO per share of $1.40 and paid a quarterly dividend of $0.33, implying a payout of the ratio of 70% which is on the high side.

In conclusion, I like the overall business of the company and I believe its revenue streams are relatively safe. The company’s Hawaii portfolio acts as a solid base as it pursues aggressive expansion. While its financial ratios are not the best, I believe these are a consequence of the company’s growth strategy. The company currently has a forward yield of 5.9% which is great in this low-interest-rate environment. Income-focused investors should consider Industrial Logistics Properties Trust.

November 10, 2020 General Ag News and Notes, REIT, Stock Market Post a Comment

Alexander & Baldwin Inc. REIT Holding Company (ALEX) Soars 15.51% on November 09

equities

Alexander & Baldwin Inc. REIT Holding Company (ALEX) had a good day on the market for Monday November 09 as shares jumped 15.51% to close at $14.97. About 755,180 shares traded hands on 6,513 trades for the day, compared with an average daily volume of n/a shares out of a total float of 72.35 million. After opening the trading day at $14.10, shares of Alexander & Baldwin Inc. REIT Holding Company stayed within a range of $15.45 to $14.10.

With today’s gains, Alexander & Baldwin Inc. REIT Holding Company now has a market cap of $1.08 billion. Shares of Alexander & Baldwin Inc. REIT Holding Company have been trading within a range of $23.32 and $8.32 over the last year, and it had a 50-day SMA of $n/a and a 200-day SMA of $n/a.

Alexander & Baldwin Inc operates in the real estate sector. It functions through three segments namely Commercial Real Estate, Land Operations, and Construction. The Commercial Real Estate segment owns and manages retail, industrial and office properties in Hawaii and on the Mainland, thereby accounting for most of the company’s revenue. The Land Operations segment actively manages the company’s land and real estate-related assets and makes optimum utilization of these assets. The construction segment represents the company’s sale of asphalt and concrete. It also manages asphalt related construction services on a contract basis. Geographically, the activities are carried out across the United States.

Alexander & Baldwin Inc. REIT Holding Company is based out of Honolulu, HI and has some 793 employees. Its CEO is Christopher J. Benjamin.

October 8, 2020 General Ag News and Notes, REIT, Stock Market Post a Comment

Here Are The Hottest Housing Markets, Real Estate Stocks In Surprise Covid Boom

Investors Business DailyJust six months ago, the idea of a housing boom would have seemed ridiculous as millions of Americans were losing their jobs. But low interest rates and the work-from-home trend are stoking real estate stocks and home sales in smaller housing markets.

The flip side is that once-sky-high markets have come crashing down, especially in the San Francisco Bay Area. But overall, both new and existing-home sales have reached levels last seen before the Great Recession.

Real estate stocks are rebounding strongly. The triple-leveraged Direxion Daily Homebuilders & Suppliers (NAIL) ETF has shot up 900% from its coronavirus crash lows. Homebuilders like LGI Homes (LGIH) and D.R. Horton (DHI) have broken out into buy zones.

Low mortgage rates spurred longtime fence-sitters to jump into the market, Realtor.com Chief Economist Danielle Hale says. But she acknowledges the housing boom is uneven.

“Among a lot of key homebuyer demographics, high-income folks, we haven’t seen the same level of job losses that we have among lower-income workers,” she told IBD. “So that has helped the market from a homebuyer perspective.”

Demographics are a factor too as more millennials — the nation’s largest adult generation — are starting families and driving demand for single-family homes. And the leading edge of Generation Z, an even larger cohort that straddles young adults and adolescents, is just starting to buy homes.

Best Housing Markets
As living within commuting distance to work becomes less important, the housing boom is elevating some surprising markets.

According to Realtor.com data for September, the hottest metro areas include Fresno, Calif.; Columbus, Ohio; Rochester, N.Y.; Colorado Springs, Colo.; Bakersfield, Calif.; Portland-South Portland, Maine; Worcester, Mass.; Stockton-Lodi, Calif.; Harrisburg-Carlisle, Pa.; and Allentown-Bethlehem, Pa.

Under this definition, “hotness” reflects a combination of factors like how quickly properties sell and the number of views per property.

In January, before the coronavirus forced millions to work from home, the San Francisco-Oakland area was the hottest metro market. Fresno was No. 9.

Bakersfield was No. 10. It moved up to No. 5 last month even as the collapse in oil prices slowed its energy sector. But the biggest gainers include Allentown, Pa. (No. 65 in January), Portland, Maine (56), and Harrisburg, Pa. (54).

Outside the top 10, others have made big leaps too, such as the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif., area about two hours’ drive from Los Angeles. Before the pandemic, it was already growing as a major distribution hub for Amazon and other e-commerce companies. It’s now the No. 39 market, up from No. 68 in January.

Regional differences could also determine which real estate stocks outperform. Of the 30 hottest housing markets, 20 are in the West and Northeast.

Worst Housing Markets
The San Francisco-Oakland area plunged to No. 45 in September as Bay Area tech giants like Facebook (FB) and Twitter (TWTR) allowed employees to work from home indefinitely.

The San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara area — in the heart of Silicon Valley — plunged to No. 62 in September from No. 3 at the start of the year.

Housing markets outside high-cost, high-tax California felt the pain too. The Dallas-Fort Worth metro area, which has been drawing businesses and residents from California, saw its rank tumble to No. 41 from No. 19 in January.

The crash in oil prices may also be slowing the Dallas housing market. Many companies that serve the Permian Basin farther west have headquarters there.

At the very bottom, the coldest large metro areas last month included Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, Fla.; Baton Rouge, La.; Honolulu, Hawaii; McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas; Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla.; and New York, N.Y.-Newark-Jersey City, N.J. Most of those markets were already near the bottom in January.

September 29, 2020 General Ag News and Notes, REIT, Stock Market Post a Comment

American Assets Trust (NYSE:AAT) Rating Lowered to Sell at Zacks Investment Research

MarketBeat

American Assets Trust (NYSE:AAT) was downgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Zacks.com reports.

According to Zacks, “American Assets, Inc. is a real estate investment trust, or REIT, that owns, operates, acquires and develops retail and office properties primarily in Southern California, Northern California and Hawaii. The trusts assets include retail properties, office properties, Waikiki Beach Walk property and multifamily properties. American Assets, Inc. is based in San Diego, California. ”

Several other brokerages have also commented on AAT. ValuEngine lowered American Assets Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on American Assets Trust from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $39.50.

American Assets Trust stock traded down $0.57 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $23.91. 9,320 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 379,620. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a PE ratio of 31.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.88. American Assets Trust has a fifty-two week low of $20.15 and a fifty-two week high of $49.26. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 3.45 and a current ratio of 3.45.

American Assets Trust (NYSE:AAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.24). American Assets Trust had a net margin of 12.08% and a return on equity of 3.53%. The business had revenue of $82.11 million during the quarter. As a group, equities analysts expect that American Assets Trust will post 1.98 earnings per share for the current year.

In related news, CEO Ernest S. Rady acquired 20,000 shares of American Assets Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $24.69 per share, for a total transaction of $493,800.00. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Ernest S. Rady acquired 25,412 shares of American Assets Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $25.32 per share, for a total transaction of $643,431.84. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have purchased 56,317 shares of company stock worth $1,410,574. 32.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AAT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in American Assets Trust by 0.9% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,926,096 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $220,664,000 after purchasing an additional 72,683 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in American Assets Trust by 36.2% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,732,288 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $68,307,000 after purchasing an additional 726,740 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in American Assets Trust by 6.9% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,591,919 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $64,798,000 after purchasing an additional 167,372 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in American Assets Trust by 366.1% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,698,504 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $47,287,000 after purchasing an additional 1,334,111 shares during the period. Finally, Macquarie Group Ltd. raised its position in American Assets Trust by 7.6% in the second quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 1,330,379 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $37,038,000 after purchasing an additional 93,670 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.34% of the company’s stock.

About American Assets Trust

American Assets Trust, Inc (the “company”) is a full service, vertically integrated and self-administered real estate investment trust, or REIT, headquartered in San Diego, California. The company has over 50 years of experience in acquiring, improving, developing and managing premier retail, office and residential properties throughout the United States in some of the nation’s most dynamic, high-barrier-to-entry markets primarily in Southern California, Northern California, Oregon, Washington, Texas and Hawaii.