Whitestone REIT Is Now Yielding 10.5%
In case you missed it, Whitestone REIT (NYSE:WSR) is this year's Labor Day special. As you may recall, I wrote an article on this company just a few weeks ago and I explained that WSR had hit the "equity markets and announced plans to offer 3.75 million shares" in a follow-on offering.
That in turn sparked an expected reaction in which shares plunged from $14.37 per share to $13.06. Then just before my latest article WSR shares drifted even lower to $12.88 per share and a dividend yield of 8.9%.
But now, just over a month later, WSR has plunged!
Let's take a look at a few charts. First, WSR now trades at $10.89 per share - a price not seen since October 2011.
More noticeably, WSR's dividend yield is now in double digits at 10.5%. Again, WSR has not seen this high of a yield since 2011.
The last chart validates the weakness of the share price as WSR's P/FFO multiple is 8.9x - a level not seen in over three years.
Has Anything Changed?
Since my article (over 30 days ago) I have not seen any fundamental change to WSR.
In fact, all I see is positive news.
On August 27th, WSR announced it had purchased a 109,000 square foot neighborhood shopping center in Austin, Texas for $37.5 million. The center, Quinlan Crossing, is anchored by Randalls and is 95% leased to tenants including Coffee Bean & Tea, Zacks American Bistro, and Massage Envy.
WSR said the Quinlan Crossing property is immediately accretive to its earnings, with an estimated $2.4 million in annual "in-place" NOI. The transaction expands the company's portfolio in Austin to four assets aggregating 356,000 square feet. Chairman and CEO James Mastandrea said in a news release:
Including our three San Antonio properties, which we manage out of our newly opened Division office in Austin, we now have a total of 644,000 square feet in the two cities.
More goods news (not bad) is that Hilliard W.L. Lyons analyst Carol L. Kemple raised her investment opinion of Whitestone REIT to "buy" from "neutral," with a price target of $13. The analyst wrote in a research report (source: SNL Financial):
We are raising our rating on WSR from "neutral" to "buy." Due to the recent price decline, we find the current valuation attractive. We like the company's 10.2% dividend yield. Management remains comfortable with the current dividend level. We would not expect a dividend increase for the next few years, at least.
While we do not see a major near-term catalyst for the shares, we view the company's longer-term growth prospects through acquisitions and the lease up of existing properties favorably. We believe considering the current 10.1% yield, investors are attractively paid to wait.
What Am I Missing?
In my last article I covered what I believe to be the most important metrics for WSR, mainly leverage and overall dividend safety.
I examined WSR's stable but flat dividend history:
And more importantly the AFFO Payout history:
I remember the last time I saw a REIT with a high yield and tight payout ratio was VEREIT (NYSE:VER) and Campus Crest (NYSE:CCG). Fortunately, I saw both dividend cuts coming.
Continue reading this article here.
Brad Thomas is the Editor of the Forbes Real Estate Investor.
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