Q: Good afternoon! As a retired dividend investor, I've held Crombie as a full holding for a number of years, having bought at a good margin of safety (now up 22%). I am concerned that their dividend has not grown since March of 2007 (a 4.7% raise then), and their payout ratio has remained in the 90% range (often more) on AFFO in spite of a number of acquisitions. The distribution is very good, of course, (currently 5.86%) but growth in payable funds seems to be nil on a per share basis. Eventually, inflation will erode the magnitude of the distribution if they fail to grow in an accretive way.
I am considering moving on to another 5-6% dividend payer. Could I have your comments on Crombie as to whether there is something I am not seeing here that should make me want to keep it - i.e. is my thinking correct? Also, if I do switch, which might you recommend that might pay similarly yet have some chance for growth? I am not specifically looking for a similar commercial REIT. (FYI, my current full holdings include STB, RSI, RNW, ECI, BNS (half, should I increase?), PPL, and SIA)
Thanks!
Paul
I am considering moving on to another 5-6% dividend payer. Could I have your comments on Crombie as to whether there is something I am not seeing here that should make me want to keep it - i.e. is my thinking correct? Also, if I do switch, which might you recommend that might pay similarly yet have some chance for growth? I am not specifically looking for a similar commercial REIT. (FYI, my current full holdings include STB, RSI, RNW, ECI, BNS (half, should I increase?), PPL, and SIA)
Thanks!
Paul