Smart REIT (SRU.UN-T)

It operates across Canada with its principle tenant being Walmart. Has stable cash flow with little growth although it is increasing density in existing space. He feels there are other places to be in real estate.

Billy Kawasaki’s Insights - Billy’s most-liked answers from 5i Research. Diversification effort makes sense. Management is solid and the CEO has significant stakes in the REIT. Revenu was inline with estimates. Per-unit cash flow was 5% better, rising 12%. Occupancy was 97.4%. Debt ratio is good at 42.9% and payout ratio is ok with 85.8%. Fine for income. Unlock Premium - Try 5i Free

Walmart is their anchor tenant, so Smart is rock-solid stable. They collected a high percentage of rents during the pandemic. But prospects are limited. SRU may see only 1-2% rent growth when new space comes to market, far below to peers of 5-10% like Riocan. He prefers grocery-anchored shopping centres, like First Capital REIT.

Many minefields in REITs now, but SRU is a safe bet. It hold more retail. He'd avoid office space more than retail, though retail will come back after Covid. SRU has good liquidity. Walmart is 26% of their net operating income. SRU's occupancy remains in the mid/high-90s in good locations which could be redeveloped if retail wanes later. SRU is solid and in a good spot for the recovery.

Focus on Walmart and adjacent retail. Likes Walmart, but the adjacent retail faces headwinds. Management team says better growth in residential than in retail. She'd take this cue and invest in companies that already have residential exposure. Talk of distribution cut.

He likes this retail REIT. It is trading at a 25-30% discount to NAV but Wal-Mart is the anchor tenant to 70% of their properties. 9% yield. The anchor tenant drives some of the traffic to the other stores. Post-vaccine, these will come back. (Analysts’ price target is $25.13)