Realty Trusts (or REIT’s) continue to remain popular among investors. Over 90% of REIT’s have higher dividend yields compared to the average S&P 500 company.
1. Arbor Realty Trust [ABR]
Arbor Realty Trust [ABR] is a REIT that engages in the provision of loan origination and servicing across senior housing, healthcare, multifamily, and commercial asset verticals.
ABR has a market cap of $2.4B and has gained over 50% in 2018, primarily driven by robust sales and earnings growth.
Which no doubt puts a smile on CEO Ivan Kaufman’s (pictured) face.
Dividend Yield: 9.5%
Total Gain: $800M
2018 % Gain: 50%
2. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance [ARI]
A mortgage REIT, ARI acquires and invests in commercial real estate mortgage loans, subordinate financings, and other real-estate debt instruments. ARI has a market cap of $2.4B and has gained 10.3% in 2018.
Even better, ARI has beaten analyst estimates in two of the last four quarters.
Dividend Yield: 9.5%
Total Gain: $225M
2018 % Gain: 10.3%
3. Blackstone Mortgage Trust [BXMT]
The Blackstone Mortgage Trust engages in originating senior loans collateralized by commercial real estate. This REIT aims to protect shareholder value and produce risk-adjusted returns through dividends.
BXMT has a market cap of $4B and has gained close to 11% in 2018. The share price has been driven upwards as BXMT managed to beat earnings estimates coupled with robust revenue growth.
Dividend Yield: 7.2%
Total Gain: $360M
2018 Return: 10.8%
4. Chesapeake Lodging Trust [CHSP]
The Chesapeake Lodging Trust manages and operates hotels. It has an enviable portfolio including The Royal Palm, Hyatt Regency, Le Meridien, JW Marriott, Hotel Adagio, Ace Hotel, Hilton Checkers, Homewood Suites, and Hotel Indigo.
In July 2018, CHSP closed the sale on the Hyatt Centric Santa Barbara, a 200-room hotel, for $90M. CHSP’s gained over 24% in market value in 2018 alone. It currently has a market cap of $2.02B (and growing).
Dividend Yield: 4.8%
Total Gain: $380M
2018 % Gain: 24.2%
5. CyrusOne [CONE]
CyrusOne owns, develops and operates enterprise-class, carrier-neutral, multi-tenant data center properties. This REIT provides mission-critical data center facilities to ensure continuous operations of IT infrastructure companies.
CONE has a market cap of $6.4B and has risen 15% in 2018. Last month, CONE closed the $440M purchase of Europe-based Zenium Data Centers. This expansion into Europe is expected to positively impact revenue for CONE.
Analysts expect CONE’s revenue to grow 22.4% in 2018 and 19% in 2019.
Dividend Yield: 2.8%
Total Gain: $830M
2018 % Gain: 15%
6. Digital Realty Trust [DLR]
Digital Realty Trust owns, acquires and manages technology-related real estate. It provides data center, colocation, and interconnection solutions. DLR is one of the largest REIT companies with a market cap of $26.4B.
DLR has gained close to 11% in 2018 and is expected to benefit from the global boom in cloud capital spending.