So, I took the plunge and made a purchase of HR.UN as part of my 2010 TFSA contribution.
H&R REIT is a TSX-listed, open-ended Real Estate Investment Trust. HR.UN holds interests in 34 office properties, 118 single-tenant industrial properties, 117 retail properties and 3 development projects, principally in the Greater Toronto Area. HR.UN owns Place Bell/Bell Place here in Ottawa. It is leased to tenants such as Bell Canada, Public Works of Canada, Accenture and Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP.
Last year, HR.UN paid out approximately 48% of its earnings from operations to unitholders. For many years, HR.UN has been a staple in the REIT family, evidenced by many ETFs such as XRE, using HR.UN as a principle holding. The Globe and Mail recently ran an article about the merits of holding REITs, namely REI.UN and HR.UN, for yield-hungry investors.
The yield on HR.UN is just over 4% and many analysts believe once the Bow building is occupied in Calgary by EnCana, HR.UN will increase its distributions (to me!) HR.UN has been steadily paying distributions since 1997, so there is little reason to think this will be stopped going forward. Those tenants in HR.UN properties aren’t going anywhere soon. Therefore, I tend to agree with what one analyst posted on StockChase about HR.UN:
“Steady, stable, high-quality REIT. Now benefited from clarification of the financing on the Bow in Calgary. Steady and stable yield should continue.”
I look forward to HR.UN distributions and its growth and will continue to monitor this stock over time.
