Monthly Dividend Stock In Focus: Dream Office REIT

Up to date on Might sixth, 2022 by Quinn Mohammed

Actual Property Funding Trusts, or REITs, give buyers a hands-off technique to take part within the financial upside of actual property. REITs have grown in reputation over time as revenue buyers search various methods to generate portfolio revenue.

One facet impact of the rising reputation of REITs is the emergence of specialised REITs, specializing in just one sub-sector of the actual property business. For instance, Dream Workplace REIT (DRETF) is the biggest pure-play workplace REIT within the Canadian market, with a dominant place in workplace properties.

Dream Workplace inventory has a excessive 4.0% present dividend yield. And, its dividends are paid month-to-month, as an alternative of the standard quarterly payout.

Month-to-month dividend shares are uncommon. You may obtain our full checklist of month-to-month dividend shares (together with related monetary metrics like dividend yields and payout ratios) which you’ll be able to entry under:

The mix of Dream Workplace REIT’s dividend yield and month-to-month dividend funds will certainly catch the attention of excessive revenue buyers.

This text will analyze the funding prospects of Dream Workplace REIT intimately.

Enterprise Overview

Dream Workplace REIT is an open-ended Funding Belief which acquires and manages predominantly workplace properties in main city areas all through Canada, however primarily in downtown Toronto. The belief has a market capitalization of $1 billion at present market costs. It’s a part of the Dream Limitless household of actual property trusts, which additionally consists of Dream Industrial REIT (DREUF).

Dream Workplace has a excessive focus in workplace house properties in Toronto particularly. Roughly 90% of its portfolio is in Toronto, with 3% in Calgary, and the rest unfold throughout a number of markets.

Its possession pursuits embody 5.5 million sq. ft of gross leasable space from 30 properties, which embody 29 workplace properties, and one property below improvement. Dream Workplace has leases with just below 430 tenants throughout Canada, a number of of its bigger tenants embody: Authorities of Ontario (11.0% of income), Authorities of Canada (8.2%), and Worldwide Monetary Knowledge Companies (3.4%).

Toronto has fairly favorable fundamentals for workplace house, which is why Dream Workplace continues to pay attention its investments there.

Supply: Q1 2022 Quarterly Report

This can be a important change from just some years in the past, when the portfolio was extra diversified. Dream Workplace has taken the daring step of considerably reducing its geographic diversification, however it has excellent causes for doing so.

Toronto has tremendously robust fundamentals for workplace house, together with low (and declining) emptiness charges. This helps drive pricing larger and is why Dream has wager huge on Toronto.

The corporate struggled in 2020, as workplace house was one of many hardest-hit areas of actual property because of the coronavirus pandemic. In 2021, outcomes rebounded materially. And in 2022, Dream Workplace continues on its path towards restoration.

On Might fifth, 2022, Dream Workplace launched Q1 outcomes. Diluted FFO-per-share elevated by one penny in fixed foreign money to C$0.39 per share. Web rental revenue fell 1.5% to C$25.9 million, as Q1 comparative properties NOI decreased 4.8% year-over-year. In the meantime, NAV per share elevated sequentially to C$32.63. Complete portfolio in-place occupancy decreased to 81.7% from 85.8% within the year-ago interval.

Progress Prospects

Whereas the near-term setting stays challenged for Dream Workplace, we imagine the corporate will return to development because the working local weather normalizes. We count on annual FFO-per-share development of ~1.8% per 12 months over the subsequent 5 years.

Dream’s development prospects rely upon excessive occupancy charges in Toronto, in addition to rising lease costs. The belief put in place a strategic plan to capitalize on its new focus in Toronto and make investments for the longer term. Below this plan, the belief offered billions of {dollars} of non-core property, shrinking its portfolio, and producing money proceeds within the course of. It used this transformation to enhance unit pricing in addition to improve its publicity to downtown Toronto.

The outcome has been a considerably smaller portfolio, however one which has a a lot larger lease base, allowed the belief to deleverage, and afforded it the power to scale back the belief’s share depend. This has not solely improved the steadiness sheet, however its funds-from-operations per share in addition to the share depend has dwindled.

Going ahead we count on disruption from the coronavirus pandemic and the rising work-from-home motion to weigh on outcomes this 12 months and doubtlessly past. Given the corporate’s appreciable publicity to top quality property in Toronto and pretty low payout ratio, it ought to be capable of climate the storm higher than some friends

In brief, whereas we don’t see Dream Workplace as producing enormous development numbers within the coming years, it’s well-positioned to proceed to develop organically from larger base rents. Toronto’s workplace house fundamentals are enough to assist this development.

Dividend Evaluation

Dream Workplace at the moment distributes a month-to-month dividend of C$0.833 per share (C$1 per share annualized). In U.S. {dollars}, this represents an annualized payout of roughly $0.78 per share, good for a 4.0% present yield.

As talked about, Dream minimize its distribution in 2017, and the payout has been stagnant since then. We don’t see a excessive threat of an additional minimize at the moment given the manageable payout ratio (anticipated at 43% for 2022) and favorable fundamentals.

We at the moment count on $1.83 in FFO-per-share for this 12 months, reflecting an total enchancment in comparison with when the pandemic struck. And, protection continues to be robust on the present dividend, so we don’t see additional cuts as crucial.

Be aware: As a Canadian inventory, a 15% dividend tax might be imposed on US buyers investing within the firm exterior of a retirement account. See our information on Canadian taxes for US buyers right here.

The 4.0% dividend yield is probably going excessive sufficient to entice revenue buyers. That is notably true with the truth that Dream pays shareholders month-to-month as an alternative of quarterly.

Ultimate Ideas

Dream Workplace REIT’s excessive dividend yield and month-to-month dividend funds make it interesting to revenue buyers. Its long-term elementary outlook is favorable, however we see solely low ranges of development within the coming years. Moreover, shares seem overvalued at present costs, which might weigh on complete annualized returns.

The 2017 dividend minimize looms massive for buyers because the yield is way decrease than it as soon as was for Dream Workplace inventory. However the present payout is effectively lined, and we view it as protected, even with COVID-19 impacts. Total, although, the inventory just isn’t very interesting right now as a result of a weak complete return potential.