STOCKCHASE

Dundee (D.UN-T) or Boardwalk (BEI.UN-T)? Boardwalk is in the residential sector, which she feels is the most defensive sector and in this environment fundamentals are very good. Outlook is very good. Have about $700 million of debt coming due this year that they will be able to roll down from 4.5% interest rate to about 2.85%. Well-managed.

2012-01-25

BUY

51.540

Jeffrey F. Olin

(Market Call Minute.) Well positioned in apartments in Western Canada and he is looking for growth there.

2011-12-21

HOLD

48.690

Andy Nasr

Apartments in Western Canada, which has above average wage growth, population growth in the economy is doing very well. They have an opportunity to increase rents. They have about $450 million of debt coming due next year and will be able to finance at much lower rates. Will probably have dividend increase next year. Feels the stock is worth a lot more than $50.

2011-11-11

Comment

50.390

A lot of concern about what they are doing – are they taking it private. They haven’t bought into Ontario as had been expected. They are buying back their stock. Rents in Alberta are gradually improving. Good cash flow situation. Will either buy back stock or increase dividend, but there is concern about it.

2011-08-12

BUY on WEAKNESS

48.300

One of the better performers. Hardly moved at all today. Feels it is worth around $50-$51 and if you are buying at current levels, you are looking at a 5%-6% total return. If you are comfortable with that then it's a buy but if you are looking for a 15% return, you want to get it in the $46 range.

2011-08-04

TOP PICK

49.130

Little concerned that management may be a little bit asleep at the switch. Located in Alberta. Have been sitting very quietly. There markets are improving. Have not increased their rents. Good cash flow and relatively low payout ratio. Have the potential to increase rents.

2011-07-18

BUY

47.700

Apartments in Edmonton and Calgary as well as Montreal. Bit of a misstep in Q1 but going forward significant upside in terms of rent growth as some of the concessions they are offering burn off..

2011-05-26

BUY

48.070

Boardwalk Reit have been buying back stock over the last few years. He feels that they will be able to get price increases in their rental units. They have a lot of cash and are in a good position with low vacancy rates in their units.

2011-05-17

BUY

46.990

He has been involved with heavily almost from day one. Doesn’t know if they will ever achieve their full value. Payout ratio is well below what they are earning. Buying back stock. They are going to do better because the Alberta market is soft and I starting to improve. Doesn’t know if they will acquire anything. Responsible management with a large holding. A good earner that will improve over time. 4% yield. A core holding.

2011-03-22

PAST TOP PICK

45.450

(A Top Pick Feb 24/10. Up 23.72%.) Best real estate managers out there. This is a stock that lets you sleep at night. Expecting them to increase dividends very soon.

2011-02-23

BUY

43.370

Jeffrey F. Olin

Largest residential REIT in Canada. CEO owns a lot of shares. Western Canada. They have a lot of cash on balance sheet. Payment of incentives to tenants is coming off. You can sleep at night with this name.

2011-01-18

HOLD

40.350

A long term REIT that he really likes. Being hurt a bit as it is having trouble growing. Also it’s core is in Edmonton. Percentage of condos going rental has been increasing significantly. Edmonton is improving with the pick up of the tar sands. Calgary is still soft. Low yield but payout ratio is low.

2010-12-10

BUY

41.300

Michael Simpson, CFA

(Market Call Minute.) Largest apartment owner in Canada. Great presence in Alberta.

2010-12-02

BUY

44.160

Jeffrey F. Olin

Largest capitalized REIT in Canada. Trading around its net asset value. Relatively low yield because of large capitalization. Good balance sheet with ton of cash on it. May buy shares back or increase distribution or make special distribution. Suspects the later.

2010-11-05

BUY

44.170

REIT stocks have been pushing up to 52-week highs so this one is performing in line with its peers. Capable management. Conservative payout ratio so the dividend is rock solid and expects distributions to grow.

2010-10-08

PAST TOP PICK

44.300

(A Top Pick Aug 12/09. Up 38%.) This is a story where you can sleep at nights. Participated in the recovery in Alberta with the mining and oil sands. Pristine balance sheet. Lots of cash to buy back shares.

2010-09-01

PAST TOP PICK

40.700

(A Top Pick Aug 12/09. Up 24.49%.) Still likes.

2010-07-26

BUY on WEAKNESS

41.570

Great blue-chip name with a tremendous balance sheet. Multifamily apartments with big exposure to Edmonton and Calgary with some assets in Montreal. Try to buy at under $40.

2010-07-15

PAST TOP PICK

40.500

(Top Pick Jun 23/09, Up 33%) very good management – haven’t taken salary. Woodstock, Waterloo, Montreal. Very conservative in what they do. Payout ratio is very low. Are building up cash. Say markets are too rich and can’t find any value.

2010-06-18

PAST TOP PICK

39.840

(A Top Pick May 4/09. Up 39.57%.) Still likes.

2010-05-28

Comment

42.070

Quite a high multiple of about 19 or so. Creating value. Edmonton is their biggest market and because of interest in the tar sands picking up again, it looks good. Paying out about 80% of the distribution. Building up cash. Good quality.

2010-05-17

PAST TOP PICK

40.820

(A Top Pick Apr 16/09. Up 56.19%.) Recently sold this. Had a tremendous move and became pretty rich. Prefers H & R (HR.UN-T).

2010-05-04

BUY

41.040

One of the best REITs in the country. Fantastic management, which owns 24%. Exceptionally low leverage that allows them to refinance their assets and pull out about $190 million in cash plus another $250 million. Low payout ratio. Has potential to buy back units, reduce leverage or do accretive acquisitions.

2010-04-28

PAST TOP PICK

42.010

(A Top Pick Apr 29/09. Up 65.27%.) One of his favourites.

2010-04-15

PAST TOP PICK

40.110

(A Top Pick May 4/09. Up 33.9% excluding distributions.) Focus specifically on apartment buildings in Alberta. Costs have dropped because of natural gas prices. Pristine balance sheet with about $250 million, which they are using to buy up their stock. Still not expensive.

2010-04-01

PAST TOP PICK

40.200

(A Top Pick Apr 29/09. Up 50.3% excluding yield.) Apartments. Payout ratio of about 80%, 4% yield and low debt. Have a lot of cash but the low interest rates are hurting them. High quality.

2010-03-19

PAST TOP PICK

40.930

(A Top Pick March 17/09. Up77.51 %.) Still likes.

2010-03-17

PAST TOP PICK

38.720

(Top Pick Feb 19/09, Up 53%) Did well. It was a great way to participate in a defensive way on the REITs. Still a top pick.

2010-02-24

TOP PICK

38.720

Great way to play the REIT market. Not a great REIT but you can sleep at night. Management is fantastic. Management owns 25% of the stock. Beat their numbers last quarter. 2011/12 just adds to this story. They have 300 Million on their balance sheet that they have to deploy or buy back stock with.

2010-02-24

BUY

36.300

One of the best financing spreads that you will see because of their CMHC financing. Low pay out ratio. Good free cash flow yield.

2009-12-14

PAST TOP PICK

37.000

(A Top Pick Apr 16/09. Up 39.99%.) Still a Hold.

2009-12-09

PAST TOP PICK

37.240

(A Top Pick Dec 5/08. Up 79.75%.) High quality. An apartment-based REIT, which tends to be very defensive. Managing occupancy and rent levels very well. CMHC backed. 4.8% yield. Fair value from a long-term perspective. Buy on weakness.

2009-11-25

Comment

37.510

Michael Sprung

(Market Call Minute.) Long-term buy. Wouldn't be in a hurry but is a well managed company.

2009-10-14

PAST TOP PICK

38.350

(A Top Pick Dec 17/08. Up 76.12%.)

2009-10-06

PAST TOP PICK

36.480

(A Top Pick Apr 16/09. Up 0.62%.) Think it can get into the $40's.

2009-08-27

TOP PICK

34.260

Good balance sheet. Have some much room they are not buying apartments any more but instead are buying back shares. CMHC financing so funding costs are dropping dramatically. There continues to be net migration into Alberta.

2009-08-12

BUY

32.170

Rick Stuchberry

A dynamite situation. Likes it. Has gone through the corrective phase and is now expecting improvement in the REIT group.

2009-07-10

TOP PICK

31.700

Apartment buildings in Alberta and Ontario. Pristine balance sheet. Great management. Buying back shares instead of acquiring apartments, which they don't feel are accretive at this time. Also get funding through CMHC reducing their funding from 5% to 3%. Trades at a premium because it is best in class but in this environment, cream rises to the top.

2009-07-08

TOP PICK

32.000

Alberta-based with a lot in Edmonton. They have cut prices and done everything they could to keep their apartments full. Kept their cash flow. Good management. 5.6% distribution is safe.

2009-06-25

BUY

32.200

Michael Decter

Canadian Apartment Properties (CAR.UN-T) and/or Boardwalk REITs (BEI.UN-T)? Thinks you get the same valuation in REITs as you would in the property market with a lot less work. He would buy either one of these or both.

2009-06-15

TOP PICK

29.950

2.5% funding, vs. other at 8%. Lots of room for acquisitions. They are buying back stock. 6.4% yield is safe.

2009-05-04

TOP PICK

27.000

One of the best names in Canada. They still have the benefit of CMHC. They’ve been very lucky in Montreal. Very disciplined. Debt is low. Paying out 75-80% of what they can earn.

2009-04-29

TOP PICK

27.670

Ideal company for these uncertain times. Largest apartment REIT across the country. People still need to live somewhere. Nice yield. Management owns 30% of it and don’t pay themselves salaries. Financing is all CMHC guaranteed.

2009-04-16

TOP PICK

24.380

Multi-residential, the safest sector in REITs. Access to CMHC financing, sub 4%. Payout ratio of about 80%. Rents are coming down in Alberta but they are doing $2.21 in free cash flow. Distribution is safe. Management owns 24%.

2009-03-17

TOP PICK

25.120

In the storm, this is a fantastic defensive REIT but with some growth profile. Reiterated their guidance for 09. Excellent management. Replacement rents are very high and they have a high occupancy level. Gets CMHC funding so their funding costs dropped substantially. Yield of about 7%.

2009-02-19

WATCH

26.250

Thetype of person that would rent a condo is not the type of person that would rent from this company. Also, there is a spread between renting in a condo and renting in this company's properties. Not overly concerned, but he is monitoring. A great name. Buy in and around $23 or less and Sell around $27.

2009-02-12

TOP PICK

27.150

Apartments tend to be the most defensive of property classes. Based primarily out of Calgary/Edmonton. Well-managed and clean balance sheet. Have access to the cheap CHMC financing. Significant management ownership.

2009-02-03

BUY

25.150

Gavin Graham

(Market Call Minute.) Largest landlord of apartments throughout Canada. Will continue to be a very successful and profitable business.

2009-01-14

BUY

25.500

(Market Call Minute.) In this environment, they get funding through CMHC, which allows them to do funding at government plus 50 basis points. In a recessionary environment, apartment units do well.

2009-01-13

TOP PICK

22.660

One of the few REITs that reissued guidance that funds from operations (FFO) is solid. Apartment buildings out west won't necessarily hurt you. Great management and they get funding through CMHC. As the interest rate market gets lower, they go lower to so the spreads haven't blown out on them for funding.

2008-12-17

TOP PICK

22.660

Believes it is the best positioned REIT right now. It has exposure to Edmonton and Calgary multi-residential market as well as Montreal. It has a very sustainable payout ratio. Great name, well positioned, good balance sheet. Buyers at anywhere below $23 sellers at $27.

2008-12-16

BUY

22.400

Ben Cheng

Apartments, particularly in western Canada. Very solid management team. Shouldn't do too badly owning this one.

2008-12-08

TOP PICK

22.140

Basically apartments. Major focus in Calgary. Track record of creating value by purchasing, renovating and approving previously managed properties. Great track record. Occupancy has been quite strong. Very strong balance sheet. Trading at 40% of NAV. 8% yield.

2008-12-05

TOP PICK

25.570

Access to low-cost debt. Excellent assets. Rents are not going up as quickly as they were. Have about $100 million of unit buybacks that they will execute over the next 12 months. Very conservative balance sheet. Excellent free cash flow growth.

2008-11-03

BUY

39.030

About 51% apartment buildings are in Alberta. Well capitalized REIT. Price has dropped a great deal. They are increasing their Alberta rents by about 10% a year. Get their funding through CMHC, whose spreads have not increased as much.

2008-04-10

TOP PICK

39.430

Has been knocked down but is not quite sure why. Possibly rent decreases in Alberta. Very good quality and diversified. Yield is about 4.6%.

2008-04-04

BUY

36.780

Multi-residential apartments, mainly in Alberta. Market was disappointed with results in the last quarter. In-place rent and market rent had a difference of $150 million. Rents dropped, so their loss to lease was cut in half. It still has exposure to the best leasing markets in Canada. There are no concerns in raising debt. A good name.

2008-02-29

TOP PICK

36.000

Announced numbers today and the market is not terribly happy with it. They are quality, so tend to be overpriced. One of the top apartment operators. Big in Montreal and in the West. Yield of about 5%. Payout ratio of about 80%. Relatively low debt.

2008-02-14

BUY

40.000

The largest apartment landlord in Canada. 53% of their rental units are in Alberta. Rent increases will amount to about $63 million. Management has begun to buy back units.

2008-02-01

Comment

44.700

Residential properties with big concentrations in Edmonton and Calgary. These markets appear to be slowing in terms of rent growth. This is a call on how bullish you are on Western Canada. If you are an oil/gas and mining bull this is a good name for your portfolio. If you are cautious and concerned about a slowdown in Western Canada, you should avoid it.

2007-12-07

Comment

46.550

About 53% of their apartments is in Alberta, which gave them a tremendous uplift in the last 2 years. REITs hit a brick wall in February. All the price appreciation from Alberta is now priced in. Alberta's economy could cool down because of the royalty discussions.

2007-10-03

PAST TOP PICK

49.750

(A Top Pick June 14/06. Up 93.2%.) Sold his holdings around the $42 range. Too expensive now.

2007-07-19

HOLD

49.000

Kevin Hall BComm, CFA

Has had a fantastic run. A large part of their portfolio is in Calgary and Edmonton. Have a great pricing power in terms of rental rates. Expect their strong growth will continue. Fully valued at this price.

2007-07-11

DON'T BUY

49.490

It needs the up tick in rents in Calgary and Edmonton to validate its current share price. He has sold some of his holdings.

2007-07-03

PAST TOP PICK

44.520

(A Top Pick June 14/06. Up 77%.) Had actually bought it for a defensive position. The upswing in the Alberta economy had not been reflected in the numbers. Sold out around $42. If you own, Sell.

2007-05-17

PAST TOP PICK

44.410

Was a defensive pick. Sold in Jan, at $41. Was a great ride.

2007-05-03

BUY

44.150

Michael Sprung

An excellent company. Has very good properties. A reasonable investment.

2007-04-11

HOLD

45.450

Multi-residential. Focused more on lower rise properties. Heavily weighted towards western Canada. Had a fantastic run. You have to decide if the internal growth justifies getting the low free cash low yield. If you are an energy and Alberta bull, it could be a good holding.

2007-04-03

HOLD

46.800

Multiple residential REIT. Primarily owns brick and stick construction. Has had a fantastic run. US investors seem to have found this name. Yield of about 3.2% and trades at about 24 X free cash flow. If you feel they can continue to grow at 8%, then it is a real buy, but if you feel it is too heavily weighted in western Canada, it is overpriced.

2007-02-16

Comment

42.320

Has been a huge winner. Edmonton is their biggest market and are well entrenched in Calgary. He is nervous about if Alberta can keep up the pace.

2007-01-12

WEAK BUY

41.270

A multi-residential name. Big concentrations in Edmonton, Calgary and Montreal. Great management. They raise rents by $75 every 6 months for the next couple of years. If you are an Alberta and energy bull, then these levels are justified.

2006-12-22

Comment

43.000

Apartment buildings. Great defensive play on the economy if housing goes bust. 51% of its portfolio is in Alberta and as home prices have soared they have the ability to raise rents. Raised their distributions 3 times this year. Great management. Still catching up on the rent increases.

2006-12-19

BUY

43.160

Very good management. Has taken some profit each time it has moved up, which turned out to be a mistake.

2006-12-08

STRONG BUY

43.160

Focused on multi-family rental apartment market. Own 34,000 units, half of which are located in Alberta. Continues to be a growth story with strong earnings in coming months.

2006-12-08

HOLD

38.440

A multi-residential REIT. Heavy concentration in Edmonton, Calgary and western Canada. Being driven by the heavy commodity boom in western Canada. Fairly priced.

2006-11-21

PAST TOP PICK

35.700

(A Top Pick July 7/06. Up 32.6%.) Specializes in apartment buildings, primarily focused in Edmonton and Calgary. Great managers. Rents are increasing. Still likes it. Fairly priced. Continue to hold if you own.

2006-11-07

BUY on WEAKNESS

35.900

Robert Lauzon

Rental properties across Canada. A nice portion of their business and cash flow comes from Alberta. Easy money has been made. Wait for a pullback and buy it closer to $30.

2006-10-20

BUY

31.060

Jason Zandberg

Not a big fan of REITs. Properties are primarily in Alberta. Have continually increased their guidance. If there is a growth REIT, this is probably one of the better ones.

2006-09-07

BUY

27.280

Focuses on apartments in Edmonton in Calgary. 51% of their portfolio is in Alberta. Because of the booming economy, you are getting increased rental pricing.

2006-08-08

SELL

26.400

Michael Sprung

Has now gotten to the point where the yield is under 5%. His question is, is that sufficient for the equity risk you are taking. If he did own, he would certainly consider taking some profits.

2006-07-18

TOP PICK

25.900

A defensive and contrarian play. Focused on apartment rentals. One of the best performing REITs last year. 53% of their income is from Alberta. With the hot economy and booming immigration in Alberta, there will be a strong demand for rentals.

2006-07-07

TOP PICK

25.600

Pays just under 5%. A little more defensive on the REIT side because they basically own apartment buildings. A lot of vacancies in Toronto, but 51% of their portfolio is in Alberta. Recently raised their guidance on their revenues.

2006-06-14

PAST TOP PICK

25.690

(A Top Pick Nov 25/05. Up 23% plus distribution.) Still likes.

2006-06-09

TOP PICK

23.800

Yield of about 5.25%. Vacancy rates throughout the country are at their cyclical highs. Most of the apartment buildings are in Edmonton and Calgary so you are leveraging off the Alberta economy. Home ownership is being very expensive which is good for rental properties. 25% of the company is owned by management.

2006-05-08

SELL

22.870

Robert Lauzon

Essentially acts as a source of capital for companies they own so can't see a lot of synergies. Also can't see any succession plan in the individual companies.

2006-04-07

HOLD

21.190

Michael Simpson, CFA

In the apartment rental business. Excellent management. Very disciplined. Fairly valued at this point. It will do well over the next year, but you won't get a large capital appreciation.

2005-12-30

TOP PICK

20.390

Owns more than 32000 rental apartments. The largest rental apartment landlord in Canada. Half of their portfolio is in Alberta, 20% in Quebec. Trading at net asset value.

2005-11-25

WAIT

19.900

Struggling like all the rest of the apartment complexes. Have had trouble growing their income due partly to the cost of managing. Well run and in good market areas and has lots of room to grow.

2005-10-31

TOP PICK

20.750

Matt Baillie

The biggest residential REIT in the country. Mainly in Alberta. Vacancy rates have been going up and rents have been coming down, so it's been tough on residential REITs. At some point housing prices are going to get to a level that it's more economical to rent rather than buy. Trades at about net asset value, so it's cheap.

2005-09-08

BUY

19.700

Very strong company. Likes the management team. Focused on the residential side of the market, primarily apartments in Calgary. Not involved in the Toronto market which has been soft. Rising interest rates will be beneficial for apartment REITs as people are buying rather than renting because of low rates.

2005-07-15

BUY

18.750

A very high quality REIT. Good management. Focused primarily in Calgary and Edmonton and recently moved into the Montreal market. Hasn't exposure to the Toronto market which has been soft recently.

2005-04-15

BUY

18.510

A high quality trust.

2005-03-18

BUY

19.000

weak 4th quarter, but a very solid stable company. Buy for the long haul.

2005-03-11

PAST TOP PICK

19.240

Own defensive names. Longterm stable, trading below capital value.

2005-03-04

BUY

18.950

Relatively undervalued versus the commercial REIT's. Just acquired 1,300 units and a portfolio across Calgary, Vancouver and into Quebec.

2005-01-21

VAGUE

17.550

Ontario is introducing rent controls, but this company only has 15% of their assets in Ontario.

2004-10-22

BUY

17.390

7% plus yield. Trading at about net asset value. Well managed. Has the potential to improve. Not cheap, but a good starting point in REIT's.

2004-10-15

TOP PICK

17.300

A defensive capitalization pick. Top drawer operator. Should generate reasonable long term growth.

2004-10-13

TOP PICK

17.200

Trading below book value. Good management. 7 1/4% yield.

2004-10-08

TOP PICK

17.100