Another Day In Paradise, REIT Paradise That Is
Dividend Growth Investing, REITs, Value
Seeking Alpha Analyst Since 2009
Brad Thomas is the CEO of Wide Moat Research ("WMR"), a subscription-based publisher of financial information, serving over 100,000 investors around the world. WMR has a team of experienced multi-disciplined analysts covering all dividend categories, including REITs, MLPs, BDCs, and traditional C-Corps.
The WMR brands include: (1) iREIT on Alpha (Seeking Alpha), and (2) The Dividend Kings (Seeking Alpha), and (3) Wide Moat Research. He is also the editor of The Forbes Real Estate Investor.
Thomas has also been featured in Barron's, Forbes Magazine, Kiplinger’s, US News & World Report, Money, NPR, Institutional Investor, GlobeStreet, CNN, Newsmax, and Fox.
He is the #1 contributing analyst on Seeking Alpha in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022 (based on page views) and has over 108,000 followers (on Seeking Alpha). Thomas is also the author of The Intelligent REIT Investor Guide (Wiley) and is writing a new book, REITs For Dummies.
Thomas received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business/Economics from Presbyterian College and he is married with 5 wonderful kids. He has over 30 years of real estate investing experience and is one of the most prolific writers on Seeking Alpha. To learn more about Brad visit HERE.Summary
- For a value investor, data is critical, as it’s the best way to spot an excellent (high-quality) REIT that’s ignored by other investors.
- Powered by almost infinite technology, we can easily separate the wheat from the chaff.
- So each and every morning my team wakes up early to screen for REIT gems, and our results have proven that hard work pays off.
I’m in the process of writing a new REIT book and I’m happy to report that I’m just days away from finishing the manuscript.
My initial deadline was in August, but I decided to back that up a few months, in order to weigh in on the presidential election and the now more obvious REIT resurgence.
One of my favorite chapters in the book is called “The Quest for Investment Value” in which I provide a detailed analysis on REIT stock valuation.
My book – The Intelligent REIT Investor – was inspired by Benjamin Graham, who is (in my book) is one of the greatest value investors of all time. His message was simple, and was woven throughout his book, The Intelligent Investor: Buy low, sell high (or perhaps hold forever).
A few days ago, I wrote an iREIT on Alpha article called, Building The Foundation: REITs (Part 1), in which I (along with Williams Equity Research) explained,
“…we are now equipped with FACTSET data and tools, which is a "game changer" in terms of the research that we can now provide our members. You will see many new features soon that enable our analysts to dig deeper into capital structures, management, and operators.”
And for a value investor, data is critical, as it’s the best way to spot an excellent (high-quality) REIT that’s ignored by other investors. Powered by almost infinite technology, we can easily separate the wheat from the chaff. In that same article I explained,
“First and foremost, REITs are a tax structure. They are companies that own, operate, and or finance real estate assets. Companies elect to be treated as REITs for tax purposes, and voluntarily restrict the range of business activities they can engage in, because they are exempt from corporate taxation.
The "catch" is they must distribute at least 90% of their taxable income to investors annually to maintain REIT status.”
That is the paradise that I’m referring to with this Tuesday morning blog…and another thing (sourced from our iREIT on Alpha service):
“Unlike most businesses, REITs don't own much except hard assets that can be depreciated. It boils down to a simple equation:
Cash flow heavy business + preferential tax treatment + requirement to pass most cash flow to shareholders = above average yield for investors
There is another historical benefit to owning real estate that many investors appreciate - appreciation. The increase in real estate's value over time has outpaced inflation by 1.5-3.0% annually depending on the asset class. That’s the polar opposite of many other income categories like corporate and government bonds, which decline in value as interest rates rise, all other things equal.”
So each and every morning my team wakes up early to screen for REIT gems, and our results have proven that hard work pays off.
For example, today I plan to interview the CEO of Innovative Industrial (IIPR), a REIT that returned 73% in 2019 and has returned over 107% so far in 2020. We conduct all of our interviews with zoom and our members also get a copy of the transcript. (full interview at iREIT on Alpha).
Also, we recently interviewed Hannon Armstrong’s (HASI) management team (full video and transcript on iREIT on Alpha).
Our secret sauce is our passion for finding overlooked REITs and holding them until the storms subside, knowing that a sunnier and more plentiful time is bound, as a law of nature.
Every day is REIT Paradise
Today is a special day because we decided to commence a daily blog, called Another Day in REIT Paradise…
Monday through Friday, we will break down the morning news and provide readers with a glimpse of what’s hot in the REIT sector.
Of course, we can’t provide you with all of our content, because we value our growing membership base. And to enhance our community we have put together a team of talented writers, analysts, and customer service folks…
…with one great mission in mind, to help our valued members achieve optimized results without chasing yield!
In today’s news…
….the winners and losers from yesterday:
iREIT on Alpha
Relevant REIT News…
Yesterday, Compass Point upgraded Washington Prime (WPG) to Buy from Neutral. Also, Chatham Lodging (CLDT) closed on the sale of the 192-room Residence by Marriott San Diego Mission Valley for $67 million. Many other morning nuggets on iREIT on Alpha...
Come visit us at iREIT on Alpha where we provide our members with unmatched tools and resources, including:
- Real-Time REIT Tracker
- Real-Time REIT ETF Tracker
- Actionable Preferred REIT Shopping List
- Monthly-Dividend Paying Pick List
- Top Dividend Grower List
- Dozens of CEO Interviews (Video and Transcript)
- A dedicated team with customer service support
- Building the Foundation series (by Williams Equity Research)
And, the icing in the cake….
- Our members will get a copy of my brand-new book!
Don't Miss Dozens of C-Suite Interviews on Brad's "Ground Up" Podcast
Analyst's Disclosure: I am/we are long hasi, iipr, PLYM.
Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.