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Strategies & Market Trends : Value Investing -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Grommit who wrote (32890)	11/27/2008 7:38:21 PM
From: Spekulatius	Respond to of 78717

BDN - discussed here many times before. Ages ago i compared BDN with CLI, the less leveraged sister stock and pointed out that CLI is cheaper when accounting for leverage (based on EV/EBITDA) and that is still true: CLI trades at and EV/EBITDA ratio of 8.7 while BDN trades at 10.0. So unless you are very bullish on commercial real estate I recommend CLI over BDN. On an unlevered basis BDN could go to zero and CLI would still be cheaper <ng>.

To: Grommit who wrote (32890)	11/30/2008 6:44:50 PM
From: E_K_S	Respond to of 78717

Hi Grommit - Here are the top ten holdings for the Vanguard REIT Index ETF (VNQ). The fund is now yielding 7.4%. finance.yahoo.com There is also a new ETF called PowerShares Active U.S. Real Estate Fund (PSR ) thestreet.com From the article"...One advantage of an actively managed approach is the Invesco team will be able to avoid areas of the market that have been among the hardest hit from the credit crunch. "PSR is focused on commercial real estate and not single-family housing," said Rodriguez. "While tenant demand may be lagging, commercial property markets are entering this slowdown with relatively contained levels of new construction. Unlike previous commercial property cycles, we are not seeing massive overbuilding." ..." Here are the top 10 holdings for PSR. There appears to be about an 80% overlap to the Vanguard REIT Index VNQ: invescopowershares.com Here are all of PSR's holdings by % of fund: invescopowershares.com =========================================================== Maybe the conservative approach for these REITs would be to buy into one of these funds rather than buying individual REITs. It's easy to hit a land mine and get wiped out when buying individual companies. The expense ratio for PSR is 0.8% vs VNQ at 0.1%. EKS

To: Grommit who wrote (32890)	12/2/2008 12:58:38 AM
From: Spekulatius	2 Recommendations Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 78717

more REITS Courtesy of IV REIT board a link to Citigroup research: citigroupgeo.com Lot's of valuable stats in this report. They do like BDN (rebound candidate but high leverage) and CLI (defensive). I think EV/ EBITDA is the one number to look at, IMO.

To: Grommit who wrote (32890)	12/3/2008 1:35:53 PM
From: E_K_S	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 78717

I started a position in the BRANDYWINE RTY PFD C (NYSE: BDN-PC) 7.50% Series C Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Shares These preferred shares were originally issued on 12/29/03 at a price of $25.00. From their original prospectus below:"... The Series C Preferred Shares will rank senior to our common shares of beneficial interest, which we refer to as our Common Shares, and on a parity with our 750,000 outstanding 7.25% Series A Cumulative Convertible Preferred Shares ($50.00 liquidation preference) which we refer to as our Series A Preferred Shares, and any other parity securities that we may issue in the future (including additional Series C Preferred Shares)...." yahoo.brand.edgar-online.com The Series C preferred shares pay $0.4688 per quarter ($1.875/year) which now yields 25% at the current price of $7.50/share. This is a cumulative preferred with a callable value set at $25/share. The proceeds of this issue was used to pay off their Series B preferred shares (in Jan 2004) that were a 8.5% cumulative preferred. ================================================================= My thought on starting a small position in this preferred is that this is like owning the debt of the REIT. I fully expect the common dividend to be cut while the preferred continues to be paid. BDN might do what Post Properties announced yesterday ( reuters.com ) where they cut their common dividend by 55% and announced a small buy back of their common or preferred shares. Their 7 5/5% preferred "B" shares were up 9% on the announcement. Because this is a cumulative preferred, the dividends are accumulated in the event the distribution is cut or eliminated for a few quarters. These accumulated dividends must eventually be paid off or distributed from any proceeds from a BK. This is either a deep discounted value play or just another value trap. Buyers beware. I sold some Comcast Corporation (CMCSA) to buy this starter position which I hold in my IRA. EKS EDIT: Lehman had a sizable position (SEC report 2008) which I believe will be liquidated in their BK that has (or will) provide an excellent entry point for this security.

To: Grommit who wrote (32890)	2/23/2009 7:31:58 PM
From: E_K_S	Respond to of 78717

This should be a net positive for HRP. Do you agree? They are taking their Government Properties (29 buildings) packaging them into a separate REIT and keeping 49.9% of the IPO. They should get a bit over book value on the offer probably a better deal than selling the buildings in a private party sale. Unit of HRPT Properties Trust files $288 million IPO NEW YORK (MarketWatch) --- HRPT Properties Trust (HRP: marketwatch.com{21AB52CD-F4E3-48D8-B8DB-5E4DBF8F1FFA}&siteid=yhoof2 HRP 3.28, -0.30, -8.4%) said Monday its Government Properties Income Trust unit filed an initial public offering. Government Properties Income Trust will own 29 properties which are leased to the U.S. government and several state governments. The Newton, Mass.-based real estate investment trust plans to offer up to 11.5 million shares including overallotments by underwriters in a bid to raise a maximum of $288 million, according to the IPO filing. Government Properties Income Trust plans to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol GOV. Upon completion of the public offering, HRP will continue to own approximately 49.9% of Government Properties Income Trust, and public investors will own approximately 50.1%. ========================================================== There is an HRP conference call scheduled for Thursday (2/26/09) which should provide more details. If the story makes sense (there is an over subscription on the IPO) and they can generate the $288 million, there should be plenty of cash reserves to protect the preferred dividend payouts. EKS