Artis Real Estate Investment TrustAX.UN.TODON'T BUYFeb 07, 2018Stock price when the opinion was issued
As of Feb 03, 2026. Market Open.
Diversified with office, retail, industrial in both Canada and US. Institutional investors tend not to like diversified REITs. Over their skis on the balance sheet, so forced to sell assets and a lot of the best ones. Has become more of an office REIT in challenged markets.
When REITs come back into favour, this won't be leading the parade. Best move on and deploy capital into one of the other suggestions from today.
Tempting. You'd get a yield of about 8% until the end of September, and 7.25% after that unless they call it back. You could buy a 5-year GIC in a registered account, no risk, and a yield of 5.32%. Or buy a laddered group of preferreds with about 6%.
Pretty indebted, not the best credit rating, fairly illiquid. If he's going to take the risk, he really wants the reward. He doesn't love either, but the AX.UN common shares with a yield of 8.34% are a better bet right now.
Are the dividends safe? Artis has been getting out of their Alberta holdings. The management is good, but it still trades at a premium. He thinks they have good assets in Minnesota to offset their Alberta holdings. It still is too focused out west and is a proxy for the western market with higher vacancy rates and lower oil prices. There are better companies that are not too concentrated on interest rates. The industrial REIT sector has outperformed, for example.