STOCKCHASE

Nothing wrong with these guys. They are about 66% office in about 70% in the 4 western provinces. Payout ratio is okay but maybe should come down a little bit more.

2012-01-06

HOLD

13.900

(Market Call Minute.) Increasing exposure to the US. Going to internalize but they have bought billions of dollars of real estate with external management.

2011-12-21

WEAK BUY

14.000

About 108%-110% payout ration and Q4 next year it will be sub-100% payout. Bough assets in clusters. Would be concerned about one-up assets they bought. Worries about variable rate debt but interest rates are going nowhere soon.

2011-12-05

BUY

13.560

Very fragmented. They are planning on internalizing management. Management is okay. They have a mixture and are diversified. They aren't among the best. High yield.

2011-11-16

HOLD

13.290

Diversified commercial. Focused in Western Canada, a little bit in Ontario and a growing portfolio in the US, particularly Minnesota. Wouldn't be an aggressive buyer at this time. Trading around its NAV. Over distributing at about 110%.

2011-10-21

BUY

12.890

Are now across the country with a little bit in the US whereas they were too much in Calgary at one point. Payout ratio is a little bit above 100. Higher yield of 8.3%. Wouldn’t put all your money into this.

2011-10-18

BUY

12.320

He likes the company and the management. Office and retail out west. Starting to get into US. It is at the right price point. Dividend is aggressive, payout more than they make, but they are working through that. You are going to get the dividend bit that is about it. Not too over levered. Likes it.

2011-10-11

DON'T BUY

12.000

Michele Robitaille

On aggressive acquisition program and quality of what they are acquiring is mixed. In process of internalizing management contract, but it has taken them a long time. Better opportunities in the REIT space.

2011-10-06

Comment

12.660

Grown significantly over the last year through acquisitions. Raised a lot of capital. Challenge is that incentive of management is to grow as opposed to creating shareholder value. This is going to change as they are going to internalize it. Trying to create as much pipeline is possible before year-end.

2011-09-26

Comment

13.090

8% yield but high payout ratio. Made extensive use of available credit and expanded in many areas. Over a longer period, the assets they bought are solid. Long-term hold.

2011-09-19

BUY

13.220

Peter Brieger

Looking at this one, which is 100% return of capital. Diversified REIT. Yield of about 8%.

2011-08-18

BUY

13.770

Higher income situation. Checkered career. Diversified everywhere. Haven’t been focused. All over the place, including US. They look disorganized but more and more people are seeing they aren’t. Relatively high yield.

2011-08-12

BUY

12.670

Office and retail space, mainly out West. Great management. Likes their acquisition strategy in Minnesota. Have come off and this is a great buying opportunity. Yield of about 8.5%.

2011-08-10

BUY

13.210

Trimmed his holdings when it went over $14 but was one of a few names he was purchasing today because of a big hit it took today.

2011-08-04

BUY

13.950

Specializes in offices out west and Manitoba but are expanding into Minnesota. Very good managers. Doesn't see much capital gain but getting close to getting below the 100% of the payout level in 2012. 7.7% yield.

2011-07-04

HOLD

13.900

Strong management, but not aligned to the degree they would like. External management and market has been waiting for them to internalize. Issued hundreds of millions of dollars. Would like to see management own more units. Overpaying their distribution, but will grow into it.

2011-06-21

Comment

14.400

Office, Industrial and Retail properties. Basically western Canada but last year expanded into Ontario and US. Strong portfolio. Purchased a couple of one-off assets that he is not thrilled with. Thrilled with what they have done in Minnesota. Can’t see a ton of upside from here but ok for a long term yield play.

2011-05-26

BUY

14.050

Artis is a company that is focused out in Western Canada. They have done well and management is pretty solid. A problem with Artis is that they pay out more than what comes in but this has improved over the last year. They are now focusing on expanding in Minnesota and Arizona. Thinks that they will make a "go of it" in regards to acquisitions in the U.S.

2011-05-17

HOLD

13.330

Have grown phenomenally quickly. He has taken a little profit. High yield.

2011-02-04

BUY

13.660

Focuses on office/industrial, basically in western Canada, especially Manitoba. Have started to expand into Minnesota. Good managers and good at squeezing profitability. Distributes more than what is coming in but is a lot less than what it was.

2011-01-18

BUY

13.660

Thinks it is a dangerous decision to invest because of yield. He likes this one. Likes that they are focused on Western Canada. Appears that US properties are compelling.

2011-01-18

Comment

13.450

Ben Cheng

Expect the REIT market is going to return about 15% over the next year. There are larger and safer names like Riocan (REI.UN-T), H&R (HR.UN-T) and Cominar (CUF.UN-T). Has done a fantastic job growing their business over the last couple of years but is a perpetual issuer of capital, which affects the performance on the market. (See Top Picks.)

2011-01-11

TOP PICK

13.380

Liked for a number of years. Trading at a discounted multiple right now. Would expect to generate 14-15% returns (all in) this year. Growing free cash flow per unit.

2011-01-07

BUY

12.600

For those looking for yield, this is more volatile. Based in Winnipeg, but have very diversified locations, which makes you wonder if they can manage them all. Feels they are survivors. Good growth. Good yield of 8.7%.

2010-12-10

BUY

12.620

Riskier than Canadian REIT. Smaller portfolio, Payout ratio above 100%. Concentrated in Western Canada. Would like to see them internalize property and asset management.

2010-11-17

BUY

13.200

Have been on tremendous acquisition pace. Cap rates have been accretive to what their cost of borrowing is. Payout is above 100%, which is their biggest concern but they are growing into it. Thinks it will sustain itself and grow into its distribution.

2010-11-01

WATCH

13.440

Have done a very good job of expanding. Recently acquired a lot of property in the US and Canada and wonders how good they are going to be at managing. A little bit of “show me” as payout ratio is around 115%-120%.

2010-10-07

Comment

13.490

Ben Cheng

Have done a very good job. Grown mostly through acquisitions. Seem to be a perpetual issuer of capital so very difficult to get a clean look at their financial statements.

2010-09-20

BUY

12.440

Distribution is 115% but is dropping down each quarter. Well managed and has excellent properties and are well funded. Acquiring and growing. 8.8% yield.

2010-09-01

BUY

11.990

Steven Conville

Good yield of 9.1%. There is also the potential for big upside in the event of a takeover or acquisitions of more properties. Could see $15-$17.

2010-08-13

BUY

11.820

Had been knocked down because of too much Calgary exposure. Have diversified into mixed products of industrial and office. Have to bring their payout ratio down to 90% or lower. 9.2% yield.

2010-08-03

Comment

11.680

Strong management team. Western Canadian-based commercial. Diversified. High growth. Attractive yield and relatively attractive valuation because of their exposure to the Calgary office market, which is a soft spot in real estate.

2010-07-28

BUY

11.710

Basically a Western play and own retail, commercial and industrial. Very good at what they do. Biggest problem with their distribution was a little too high but are starting to grow into it. Attractive yield a 9.2%.

2010-07-26

BUY on WEAKNESS

11.380

Good quality name. Recently made a very accretive acquisition in Minnesota. Try to buy at around $10.50.

2010-07-15

WEAK BUY

11.040

Has been changing and growing and covered with issues. They are trying to expand and diminish the effect of their Calgary exposure. Payout ratio is still a bit above what they are earning. Payout is 10%. Thinks there is danger. But he things they will work things out and are a good long term hold.

2010-06-18

BUY

11.300

Paul Harris, CFA

Great company, well run and good management. REITs will not have a change in their tax structure. 9.4% yield.

2010-05-19

BUY

11.550

Probably a good long-term hold. Alberta-based but are spreading across the country. Payout ratio of 82%. Acquiring properties in Manitoba. Very safe and a good source for high yield.

2010-05-17

BUY

11.500

Western Canadian focused. One of the knocks was that they had too much exposure to Calgary office space but has done a great job diversifying. Payout ratio of 82% and is coming down.

2010-05-13

BUY

11.600

Probably over distributing slightly at about 110%. They'll come on side late this year or early next year. Feels the distribution is safe. 9.3% distribution.

2010-04-28

WEAK BUY

11.670

Barry Schwartz

REITs are going to have a good place in investors’ portfolios. A lot of them have very nice yields but they are going to react to higher interest rates. Be cautious.

2010-04-20

PARTIAL BUY

11.570

Been challenged in a lot of ways. Made a lot of good moves and keep on surprising their detractors. 9.35% yield. Payout ratio and debt are too high. Large exposure to Calgary, which is still a question mark. Not likely to have to cut distributions.

2010-04-15

Comment

11.540

Because this is technically a new entity, and their buildings still have a lot of leverage on them, the depreciation of each building is high and therefore almost 100% of their distribution is return of capital. Very accretive to investor as they are not paying any tax on it at this time.

2010-04-01

BUY

11.780

One of the best performing REITs. Western-based. Have a lot of small deals. Too much debt and too high a payout ratio but are getting a lot of followers. Very credible group.

2010-03-19

TOP PICK

11.450

Office, industrial and retail properties in Western Canada. Just reported with good results. Expect Q2 and Q3 will be good.

2010-03-17

PARTIAL SELL

11.310

Michael Decter

Have done a good job of building value. Not a top pick in his REIT list. Consider gradually selling out.

2010-03-08

HOLD

11.500

Mix of office, industrial and retail. Market overreacted over the last year or two. Own it in a mutual fund he manages. Just took a little profit on it. Thinks they will deliver in the end. They are still going to grow.

2010-02-24

HOLD

11.350

Michael Decter

Had a good rebound. Would be a little nervous about buying at these levels but would continue to hold.

2010-01-25

PAST TOP PICK

11.710

(Top Pick Feb 12/09, Up 102%) Had tremendous exposure to Calgary so it sold off dramatically before he recommended it. They have done a good in that their offices are not so downtown, single tenant and now they are selling assets at gains and redeploying. Great job of managing balance sheet.

2010-01-19

BUY

11.250

Just did a new issue so they are beefing up their acquisition and balance sheet. Well diversified in office, commercial and retail in the West. Concentrating on lowering their Alberta exposure. Excellent management.

2010-01-08

TOP PICK

11.100

Robert Lauzon

Western Canadian-based real estate company owning commercial/office/retail space primarily in Calgary. A bit of a trough right now so this is a good time to enter. 9.5% yield.

2010-01-06

BUY

9.840

They like the company. They just started buying it. They recently got their balance sheet in order. They diversified into Winnipeg out of Calgary. He thinks that with a yield of 10.9%, over the next 6-9 months they will probably creep up. They can sustain their distribution and they are good operators. They are not as susceptible to the hot oil economy as one might think.

2009-11-24

BUY

9.050

Commercial and industrial real estate in Alberta. Did a convertible debenture so they have funding in place. Not too expensive. Thinks the small-cap space in the rates is poised to outperform.

2009-10-06

BUY

9.140

Prakash Hariharan

Likes where it is trading right now, but would prefer the converts to the units. It’s a good risk return

2009-09-29

SELL

8.850

Focused in downtown Calgary so they have stuff in the suburbs and some industrial. Management continues to surprise people by finding problems and getting out of them. Probably okay to stay here but probably safer to go to another investment.

2009-09-03

Comment

8.440

Expecting huge vacancies in Calgary but are also spread among other western provinces. Also have industrial and suburban products. Surprised him by doing a good job in fixing problems. 12.8% yield.

2009-08-10

PAST TOP PICK

7.540

(A Top Pick Aug 13/08. Down 43.74%.) Have done a tremendous job of building a high-quality portfolio and continue to recycle assets. Still a Buy.

2009-07-20

SELL

7.460

Ben Cheng

(Market Call Minute.) A lot of exposure to the Calgary office space.

2009-07-13

BUY

8.000

Ara Nalbandian

REIT that invests in properties in the Alberta area. This market has been suffering of late. Vacancy rates are going up. Attractively valued and he doesn't see any short-term risks of cuts in distributions.

2009-07-03

HOLD

8.090

Just did a debt issue. Heavily located in Calgary, which is a very vulnerable market. A lot of risk. Will probably survive. 13.3% yield. Good portfolio and management.

2009-06-25

Comment

8.350

This is a huge bet on Calgary. Over came a bunch of problems. Conservative. Have a couple of more things to do. Good management.

2009-06-09

PAST TOP PICK

8.490

(A Top Pick June 12/08. Down 42.67%.) Overhang has to do with the Calgary offices where there is an overbuilt situation. There has been some slippage in occupancy. Have an opportunity for some acquisitions at good prices.

2009-06-03

PAST TOP PICK

6.290

(A Top Pick March 24/08. Down 55%.) All Western Canada and huge exposure to class B offices in Calgary. Market is expecting the ceiling to fall in on that market. Generated 9% internal cash flow growth in Q3 and their free cash flow per unit has grown 33% with occupancy at 97%. Still a Hold.

2009-03-17

PAST TOP PICK

5.710

(A Top Pick Feb 26/08. Down 59%.) Has under performed the REIT space because of fears of the Western economy. He likes Alberta and energy longer-term so is continuing to average in.

2009-02-24

TOP PICK

5.770

Comparing Q3 of 08 with Q3 of 07, their cash flow per unit is up 33%, occupancy is pretty well flat at 97% and their payout ratio has declined significantly. Good management.

2009-02-12

PAST TOP PICK

6.550

(A Top Pick Feb 28/08. Down 49.6%.) Real estate is deeply out of favour on concerns about refinancing. Actually had a 6% increase in operating income over the year. A levered play on Alberta so there is a negative view on housing. Wait for REITs to normalize.

2009-01-22

SELL

7.530

(Market Call Minute.) Mostly in the West and are vulnerable to the slowdown.

2009-01-13

DON'T BUY

7.930

Andrew Guy, CFA

This has always been one of his favourite income trusts on the REIT side. Very well managed. If you are concerned about a slowing economy in Western Canada, it is probably a little too early to buy.

2008-11-19

PAST TOP PICK

10.750

(A Top Pick Dec 7/07. Down 34.2%.) Distribution is safe. Exposure to Calgary office where there is a lot of development. Have managed to re-lease all of their 2008 expiries and 30% of their 2009. Very cheap and a Strong Buy.

2008-11-03

BUY

15.300

Primarily in Western Canada and split between industrial, office and retail. Payout ratio is coming below 100%. Good exposure to economies where in place rents are below market-rents. Good management.

2008-08-13

TOP PICK

15.300

(A Top Pick Aug 15/07. No change.) Had a distribution increase. Started to recycle some assets with tremendous gains. Excellent leasing velocity in terms of roll-ups. Expecting near-term volatility, so buy on weakness. Yielding over 8% on a free cash flow basis. Leasing for the next 7 quarters looks very strong.

2008-08-13

TOP PICK

16.660

Tremendous leasing spread in the Calgary office market. 70% of their leasing has already been done. Tremendous free cash flow growth. If you Buy under $16, you can expect double-digit returns year over year.

2008-06-12

PAST TOP PICK

16.850

(A Top Pick July 4/07. Up 2%.) Great exposure to Western Canada. Made several acquisitions in the last year. Good management. Some low rents are due for renewal. Still a Buy.

2008-05-14

PAST TOP PICK

15.030

(Top pick, February 16, 2007. Down 11%) Has done nothing wrong. Excellent balance sheet. Trading at an 8.5% free cash flow yield. Undervalued.

2008-03-24

TOP PICK

13.350

Was a past top pick, still likes it. Their results reported today were very strong. Very sustainable payout ratio, about 85%. Exposure to the western economy. $30 mil of cash on the balance sheet. A great name.

2008-03-24

VAGUE

14.000

Doren Quinton

(Guest Comment) Product focus is commercial real estate, in western Canada. Earnings per share have increased. Have done good things with money. Debt to market value is close to 40%. No liquidity risks.

2008-03-19

TOP PICK

14.560

Office/industrial and retail based in Western Canada. The idea is to own B assets in A markets and A assets in B markets. Tremendous internal growth with leasing spreads at 79%. Discount to NAV. Strong internal management.

2008-02-29

TOP PICK

14.560

(A Top Pick Apr 13/07. Down 10% including distributions.) There has been concern about the Alberta economy, which has resulted in this stock selling off. GP and income growths in Alberta continue to lead the nation. Their ability to mark rents to market is well above their industry peers.t

2008-02-26

BUY

14.820

Andrew Guy, CFA

A quality name. Think Canadian commercial real estate will continue to do very well.

2008-02-06

TOP PICK

12.720

Western Canadian diversified REIT, office, industrial and retail. 25% of their portfolio has rents rolling over in offices. A lot of their rents are anywhere from 30% to 65% below market, so even if there is a slowdown in Alberta with rents dropping 15%, there is still a lot of upside. 2/3 of their operating income is out of Alberta. Trades at about 24% of its NAV. 8.1% yield.

2008-01-22

PAST TOP PICK

13.700

(A Top Pick Feb 16/07. Down 16%.) Great quality name. Suffered from perception of a slowdown in Western Canada. Still significant internal growth through lease renewals. 7.8% distribution should be safe. Still a Buy.

2008-01-14

Comment

15.030

Specialized in retail with most of their assets in Alberta and are right in the sweet spot in Alberta's economy. Because of the credit blow out, institutions generally migrate to large cap REITs and avoid small caps.

2007-12-28

TOP PICK

15.160

Office, industrial and retail in Manitoba to B.C. More of a tactical call. Even if concerned about a slowdown in Western Canada, the portfolio in Calgary is almost fully occupied and rents are so far below market that even if rents rolled down 20%, you would still get significant internal cash flow growth.

2007-12-07

BUY

17.600

Stock price has held up very well. There is expectation that someone, including Dundee (D.UN-T) will take them over. Have a lot of Alberta properties.

2007-09-14

PAST TOP PICK

16.750

(A Top Pick Nov 21/06. Up .08%.) They continue to deliver on the B assets in A locations in western Canada and A assets in B locations. 40% of their portfolio comes up for renewal in the next 3 years. A good entry point.

2007-08-16

TOP PICK

17.150

70% cash flow coming from western Canada. Excellent management team. Focus on class B buildings in secondary cities, but recently made an acquisition of a good building in Calgary. Looking for distribution increases over the next couple of years as many of their “in-place rents” are below current market and will be raised on renewals.

2007-07-04

BUY

16.650

Enthusiastic supporter of Artis Reit. Focused on western Canada. 40% of their portfolio is up for maturity in the next 3 years and they are probably anywhere from 30 to 50% below market. Significant internal growth potential. In this pullback they are buyers.

2007-06-29

HOLD

17.100

Huge Alberta play with secondary quality product. Depends on the economy stained really strong. Recently made a series of acquisitions of higher-quality properties.

2007-06-20

Comment

17.410

Big in Alberta. A lot of relatively new properties with leases below spot market. Good optimism for them to jump yields if Alberta stays strong. Fairly good yield.

2007-05-07

TOP PICK

17.300

Have a really good portfolio put together. 40% is coming up for renewal in 2 years, of which 2/3 is in Calgary in particular. Is currently being leased significantly cheaper then the current rates in the market.

2007-05-05

TOP PICK

17.000

Retail, industrial and office. 60% of properties are in Alberta.

2007-04-13

PAST TOP PICK

16.760

(A Top Pick Nov 21/06. Up 10%.) (Formerly Westfield (WFD.UN-T).) Starting to really generate significant internal cash flow growth. Expecting significant upside.

2007-04-03

BUY

16.270

About two thirds of their operating income comes from Alberta. There have been some big rent increases as rents roll over. Strong management.

2007-03-20

BUY

16.180

Focused office and industrial in Alberta and had a good run last year. Has done a good job of initiating acquisitions. Wouldn't be surprised if it has a better year than what the sector dies.

2007-03-19

TOP PICK

15.950