The COVID-19 pandemic has illustrated how desperate the situation has grown for health care facilities in Canada and around the world. Many systems are overburdened, and governments will need to commit far more resources to keep up as the developed world faces an aging population. Investors should seek exposure to health care real estate.
The Northwest Healthcare REIT (TSX:NWH.UN) is an open-ended real estate investment trust that operates a portfolio of high-quality health care real estate. Shares of this REIT have climbed 7.9% in 2021 as of close on October 26. The stock is up 15% from the previous year.
Northwest unveiled its second quarter 2021 results on August 12. The REIT’s revenues were mostly flat for the year-over-year period. Meanwhile, it achieved strong portfolio occupancy of 96.7%.
Its international portfolio held at a very strong 98.2%. Northwest’s aggressive acquisition strategy continued to pay off in 2021. In Q2 2021, it posted total assets under management (AUM) of $8.3 billion – up 20.9% from the second quarter of 2020. Solid value gains across its portfolio led to net asset value (NAV) per unit growth of 6.2% to $13.14.
Properties owned by Northwest rose to 190 compared to 183 in the prior year. Meanwhile, adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) increased to $43.2 million over $35.5 million in Q2 2020.
This REIT possesses an attractive price-to-earnings ratio of 9.3. Better yet, it offers a monthly dividend of $0.067 per share. That represents a strong 5.9% yield.
