My Watch List For August

As I’ve discussed recently, it’s tough to find value in the market currently and I remain cautious with deploying new capital in the face of ever higher prices for high quality assets. While I’m always more than willing to pay a fair price for shares in a high quality business, I’m not quite as keen to pay more than that. Moreover, I don’t want to sacrifice quality just because the market may be pricing me out of certain equities. I continue to want to own high quality dividend growth stocks at a fair or better price, and although value is tough to find I think there are still some buys out there.

I was recently looking at my portfolio and searching for value amongst my own holdings. I have built my Freedom Fund from scratch, and it contains some of my best ideas. So I figured why not start there? Furthermore, I sorted through some of the holdings that are currently trading for below my own cost basis. If I liked an asset at $X, I most certainly like it at a price less than $X.

The following lists two high quality companies that I believe in, am invested in and are currently trading for prices less than I paid.

The Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS) 

I purchased shares in this global bank back in February of this year, for $58.75 per share. The current price is about 3% below that level, so obviously I’m interested in averaging down on this holding. I discussed at length why I like this particular company and those fundamental reasons haven’t changed in the last five months. This is a conservatively managed bank with global exposure. The balance sheet is very strong and the dividend payout ratio is just under 44%, which leaves plenty of room for further dividend raises.

Trading for a P/E of 11 and an entry yield of 4% is very nice. In addition, as I’ve pointed out before BNS didn’t have to cut its dividend during the Great Recession. Not only that, but this company has been paying out dividends since 1833! The time frame since then includes events like The Civil War, WWI, WWII, the Great Depression, The great Recession and many global shifts in politics and economics. That kind stability and history that is hard to find. If you want to be sure that the passive income you’re setting up today is going to be around for the next 50 years or more, you could do worse than holding a high quality bank like BNS in your portfolio.

Digital Realty Trust, Inc. (DLR)

This is another company that I recently initiated a position in, buying shares back in June at $59.34 per share. The market is currently trading shares in this business for almost 4% less than that level. I made my case for this investment just last month, and nothing has really changed since then. This is a great Real Estate Investment Trust that owns data centers and leases them out to high quality tenants with long-term leases in place. Some of their tenants include well-known companies like International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) and PepsiCo, Inc. (PEP).

The compound annual FFO growth since 2004 is 18.7%, and the CAGR of the dividend since 2005 is 15.3%. I doubt this kind of growth can continue indefinitely, but if DLR can even capture a growth rate half of this level I’ll be a happy investor indeed. The current entry yield is 5.45%, which is very attractive in our current low interest rate environment. Trading for a P/FFO under 13 also leaves me quite interested in adding to my burgeoning position. Although rising interest rates could harm REITs due to the leverage that REITs typically employ to finance new purchases, I think DLR is priced at a level that likely mitigates this impact. On top of that, the high yield also provides a hedge against a drop in the share price.

And a few others…

There are a few other stocks that are currently trading for prices either slightly below my cost basis, or just above my cost basis. That list includes high quality companies like Realty Income Corp. (O), General Electric Company (GE) and Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD). All of these companies also have a relatively low weighting in my portfolio, which only adds to the attractiveness of current prices.

Although I’m not particularly enthusiastic about purchasing equities at today’s prices, I feel any of the above stocks make reasonable purchases based on all known current factors.

How about you? What’s on your watch list?

Full Disclosure: Long BNS, DLR, PEP, O, GE, TD

Thanks for reading.

Photo Credit: digitalart/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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66 Comments

  1. Too many to list, but looking at Pfizer, Wells Fargo, H&Q Healthcare Investors (HQH), Lorillard, Public Storage (PSA), and Realty Income as some of my next purchases.

  2. As I was reading the first couple of paragraphs of this entry, I was thinking about DLR…and sure enough you mentioned it farther below =). I bought a bit of DLR this morning, as a matter of fact. I am pleased to see that DLR, along with KMP and some others, is making another downward retreat today. I am also conforted by the fact that the KO is still hovering around $40 (which can be thought of as somewhat overvalued, but a company like KO has historically traded above fair value, so I’ve decided to buy some shares here and there).

    Thanks for pointing out silver linings in this challenging market!

  3. DLR is about 27% off it’s 52-week high as of today, making it a huge value for any investor who believes in their long-term growth prospects. Definitely a great time to buy, and can’t figure out why it’s been knocked down so far.

  4. Scoonie,

    Sounds like a nice list there! I’m also considering O. LO appears attractive here, as long as one is aware of possible menthol concerns. WFC is also a great long-term play.

    Best of luck with your buys!

    Take care.

  5. Spoonman,

    DLR is really interesting. It’s near the top of my watch list, as evidenced by this post. The 2Q FFO was way up YOY, although net income was flat. Overall, a pretty good quarter. I don’t really get the price action on this company, but it’s fine with me. If it stays near today’s prices for the next week or so I’ll be gladly adding to my position. O is another REIT I like.

    Hopefully August is kind to us value investors!

    Best wishes.

  6. Anonymous,

    CAT is a fine pick. I go back and forth on the company. While I really love a lot of aspects of the company, I don’t like the competition from Asia, the recent fraud issues regarding an acquisition and the potential issues from a slowdown in global mining. I may end up owning a piece of the company, and today seems like a good price to pay. The valuation is reasonable and the entry yield is compelling.

    Best regards!

  7. What’s up D. Mantra?

    IMHO, overall good list. I like the Canadian banks (always have) and O and DLR are probably among the best REIT’s. The only one I’d be hesitant with on this list is GE. Although I don’t consider any of others great bargains they are still solid picks that are at least fair or close to fairly priced. As you said, it’s just SO hard to find bargains in the current market.

    Thoughts on AAPL? It was a real tough one but I pulled the trigger on this one last week (cost basis about 428). I know there’s a lot of good reasons for DG investors to avoid this one: short dividend history, uncertainty over management’s dividend commitment, increased competition, and the rapidly evolving consumer tech market which makes it difficult to establish a moat.

    BUT, I found some points very compelling: very low payout ratio, a super fortress balance sheet (almost 150 billion in cash – Wow!), and perhaps most of all, by all standard measures a cheap valuation in an overvalued market. And, it seems that management is starting to embrace returning shareowners value thru dividends albeit the track record is short. With the Apple ecosystem, there may even be something of a moat (as much as there can be in tech). I thought of my own situation where I considered switching to a different smartphone (from the iPhone). But then I decided to stick with it as it is just too painful to switch (as I have so much music, apps etc. organized on my iTunes account). High switching costs in action.

    In some ways, I think this might be going out a bit on the ledge but it could be a rewarding pick. We’ll see. That said, it’s a relatively small position in my portfolio.

    See ya.

    -Rock the Casbah

  8. Roadmap2Retire,

    The payout ratio and certain valuation metrics don’t necessarily apply to REITs like DLR. Earnings are not a viable way to value the company or determine profitability. Rather, you should be using FFO (Funds From Operations), which accounts for depreciation. Using that number, the company has a very sustainable payout and the valuation is actually quite attractive.

    This is a nice little article on REITs and how to asses them:

    http://www.investopedia.com/articles/04/112204.asp

    Best wishes!

  9. Aspenhawk,

    I don’t blame you for doing nothing. I’ve been fairly inactive this last month, only initiating a position in Royal Dutch Shell plc (RDS.B). The market certainly isn’t giving us much to be excited about.

    Hopefully you’ll have a reason to spend that cash soon! 🙂

    Best wishes.

  10. RXSKI,

    Thanks for stopping by! I appreciate the support regarding the ads. 🙂

    As far as reinvesting dividends, I’m still doing it the same way I’ve done it since the beginning: I simply let the dividends collect over the course of a few weeks or so and then combine that capital with fresh cash from my day job. I then use the combined sources of capital to make my purchase(s) with. Sometimes I’m purchasing more than once a month, in which case the dividends don’t get long to accumulate.

    However, if I wasn’t buying monthly I would definitely want to reinvest more often and Scottrade’s new FRIP feature is a wonderful way to take advantage of free dividend reinvestment. Since I buy equities so often it just makes sense for me to pool the dividends with the fresh capital and then sweep that into a purchase.

    I hope that helps.

    Best regards!

  11. Rock,

    Always good to hear from you!

    I’m just not sure on AAPL. I’d say the best thing about the company is all that cash on the balance sheet. However, that could be a blessing or a curse. Making ill-timed acquisitions or spending it on R&D that goes nowhere certainly could drain that cash and create no shareholder value.

    I’m no expert on the company to be sure, but in my view the company will live or die by innovation. They operate in an extremely competitive space where the “latest and greatest” separates the winners from the losers. AAPL had a great run there, and now Samsung and Google (Android) are both having their day in the sun. AAPL could work out fantastically as an investment, but I really think it comes down to their ability to innovate new products. If they cannot do so then I have to wonder where the growth is going to come from, especially as their margins are hit by lower priced products becoming popular in the marketplace.

    At any rate, I wish you luck with the investment. I have a personal aversion to tech, and actually find my sole true tech holding (INTC) as more than enough for me right now. In fact, I’d probably be inclined to trim INTC if it pops back up to $25/share. I’m just not smart enough to really predict where some of these companies are going.

    Best wishes!

  12. I was considering DLR again over the weekend after seeing the 7.5% stock drop on Friday. I personally do not consider it to be a great investment at the current price since their payout ratio is at 216%. Moreover, I think the stock is currently quite overpriced at $57.32 (Graham Number currently for DLR is $27.01)

  13. The Little White man with binoculars in me is now more interested in low p/e stocks, the likes: HFC. All my dividend screens give me no records ! This market tells me: do nothing, keep what you have, there will be better times !

  14. Both stocks seem like reasonable picks with nice yields. I look forward to seeing what you end up buying in August.

    I haven’t updated my watch list since my KMI purchase last week, so I’m not sure what I’ll buy in August. My next purchase will likely come in mid to late August, though, assuming I receive my moving expense reimbursement in a timely manner.

  15. DGM,

    Thanks for the vote of confidence. I respect your investment decisions, so I’m glad I got the thumbs-up. 🙂

    I think DLR is attractive here. I really don’t get the lack of appeal, and they had a pretty strong quarter with new leases signed and a couple of acquisitions. Mr. Market’s irrationality is my opportunity.

    I look forward to seeing what you buy as well. Certainly there isn’t much to get extremely excited about, but I think that cash can still be effectively used right now.

    Best of luck out there!

    Take care.

  16. I got my eye on DLR and O. It’s been tough finding good deals lately. I’ve been enjoying your blog for a little over a year now sometimes checking it multiple times a week. I don’t find the ads troublesome at all. When you were just starting out did you directly reinvest your dividends or save the monies to deploy into other equities. The new Scott Trade feature sounds nice. With limited capital and small positions in some great companies I think it is in my best interest to reinvest dividends to avoid the commission from my brokerage account for now. What do you think? Keep up the great work!

    Cheers
    Rob

  17. I hear you on Reality Income. I’d be all over O right now if I wasn’t already overweight in the real estate sector. I think it’s a great buy right now. Cheers.

    CD

  18. I really appreciate your forum here, DM, it’s great to have a community on the lookout.

    I really dig ARCP and I think they are en route to becoming something nice here.

    I do own DLR and I bought 2 tranches, one way higher, and one slightly higher:)

    My question to the forum (and to you), how long will DLR’s leases be pertinent? What if the technology is replaced by another? What if data centers move to the cloud? What if hard technology becomes obsolete as central servers get better? Colocation might become a thing of the past with improved technology…

    I’m holding my DLR, and probably increasing my position (and I dig your conviction), but I’d like to hear how you and people here weigh in. Seems like a “tech REIT” with perhaps “tech issues”, too? I don’t know. Hopefully someone here can easily rebut me with one sentence.

    Otherwise, yeah, I dig ARCP, I think UL might be nice with the high yield and more growth in emerging markets contributing to EPS, KMI looks good…LEG might be decent…

    RO

  19. DM, not only BNS, but all other 6 big Canadian banks didn’t cut dividends last recession and all of them have nice P/E and payout ratio.
    btw, what do you think about POT?

  20. DM,

    Because you’re taking the dividends in “cash” even though you reinvest manually, do you then have to count that as income & pay tax on it, come year-end?

  21. I do like O and their colorful annual reports and how shareholder friendly the company is under Tom Lewis. I bought them once back around $18 a share and sold them for a profit to get other high quality companies back then, but wish I held on for the long haul. I started buying them back again and still have a nice profit going.

    There are different kind of REIT stocks out there that specialize in different areas and have performed well. They already are required to payout 90% of I believe their AFFO to shareholders to avoid their tax status at the corporate level

    I am still searching for value out there and like a lot of companies. A lot my dividends currently come from the BDC and REIT space. I love monthly dividends to supplement my quarterly ones and try to monitor my positions closely. One of the BDC’s I own Prospect Capital (PSEC) has announced monthly dividends through the rest of the year at least which helps shareholder confidence in the short term.

  22. Speaking of BDCs, I really like TCAP and MAIN. Do you own those?

    TCAP looks like the most solid BDC on the market. Excellent dividend growth, excellent price performance, and steady.

  23. DM,

    you looking at POT today after this tumble?
    I’m in long term now after getting in for 29 and change.

  24. No, I don’t own any BDCs right now but am planning to buy both TCAP and MAIN at some point over the next 6-12 months. Looking at PSEC as well, but it seems to be much more volatile than the other two.

  25. I’ll take that on, since I’m a CPA. The issue is what kind of account your investments are in. If it’s an IRA or other retirement account, then there is no tax until money is withdrawn from the account. If it’s a taxable brokerage account, then dividends are taxable regardless of reinvestment.

  26. Yes, you have to pay income tax on dividends out of your brokerage account no matter what you do with them.

    The only way you postpone tax on dividends is if they are held in an IRA or Roth IRA account.

  27. I recently sold my holding in Royal Bank of Canada due to concerns about a potential real estate bubble in Canada. I would have similar concerns about BNS. Regarding DLS, it is probably true that the recent nosedive is just about over. The market has priced in it’s concerns about rising interest rates. Personally, I’m not interested in REITs right now as I’m looking more at dividend growth than current yield. My favorite of your picks is GE. I believe they’ve made and are making the changes necessary to move the company forward.

  28. Nice list there, I’ll have to keep an eye on these as well. I’ve been thinking about getting into a few REITs, so maybe this month is when I finally make the leap. It’s tough to find value in today’s market with everything being so high, but it’s definitely doable.

  29. Scoonie,

    I own a few shares of MAIN. Bought it cheaper, but not a very big position for me, but really like the company also. I own some of FSC, PSEC, and GLAD, SUNS, and HRZN also.

  30. I also liked TCAP back around $18-20 but didn’t pull the trigger on buying any and missed the move higher. It may still be a good buy with a nice yield and not too high of a payout ratio for BDC’s. Do you own both?

    Hope they perform well for you!

  31. As far as banks don’t cut dividends (and I beleive they won’t) I’m comfortable holding them and DRIPing dividends

  32. I also initiated small position in POT at $30.16 on TSX… beleive that today plunge is overreaction

  33. DTmheat,

    Chris and Scoonie answered this question perfectly. I hold all shares in a taxable account so I do pay taxes regardless of reinvestment.

    If you have any other questions on the matter please feel free to let me know.

    Best regards.

  34. Captain,

    I’m with you. O is a very high quality company. It’s not the cheapest stock on the market to be sure, and not even the cheapest REIT, but it’s a blue-chip one can count on for years to come.

    Best wishes!

  35. you are smart to reits in place owning a rental Iwent down that road once what a pain that was I sold it bought O and NNN now I get a dividend check with out all the hassles of renters

  36. RO,

    Hey, glad to see you stopping by more often. Always enjoy hearing from you. 🙂

    You’re now the third person to mention ARCP. I’m going to have to some digging on this one. I don’t follow a ton of REITs. I follow the two I own (O and DLR), as well as NNN and OHI. I like the yield with ARCP and the model follows O. It’s like an O in it’s infancy, although it’s growing quickly. I do quite like the triple net lease REITs.

    I had to think about your DLR question for a minute.

    I’m no technical whiz kid, but as far as I understand it even in cloud computing there will always be a need for physical storage somewhere. Certainly less demand, but in that regard won’t major companies always want access to their own data and information? How comfortable will companies be sharing all this information out there in a cloud, rather than have it under some type of “lock and key”? I don’t know the answers to these questions, which makes me leery about tech in general. However, in the end DLR still owns physical properties. Even if a tech Armageddon hits DLR, can they not use these spaces in other ways?

    I’m with you on your other choices. I really like KMI, and it’s one of my larger positions. UL is also high on my watch list, but I’d like to get in at a cheaper price.

    Best regards!

  37. gibor,

    I also like TD and RY in the Canadian banking space. I think all three are nice, and am actively looking to add to the two I own (TD and BNS).

    POT got smacked today. It looks like the price of potash is coming way down due to supply/demand issues. Something to monitor, but I’m just not confident about this company over the next 3-5 years even though they are a huge player in this space.

    I’m not a big fan of companies that lack true pricing power, but instead are at the mercy of a market. I own a small position in BBL, which also shares this fate, only because they are heavily diversified across commodities.

    Take care!

  38. SWAN,

    Thanks for stopping by!

    I’m with you on O. That is definitely a company you buy and then hold onto. You compound that monthly dividend income into a wonderful dividend machine! 🙂

    I haven’t invested in any BDC’s. I believe the risk/reward relationship is perhaps a bit too aggressive for me, as I can’t really analyze the underlying businesses these companies are investing in. There is a chance for big gains, but there is a lot of risk that comes with that. I suppose I could allocate 5% or so of my portfolio to something like this, but I have a fairly low tolerance for risk (especially for someone who has an almost 100% allocation to equities).

    Good luck finding the value out there!

    Best wishes.

  39. Right on…Yeah, I suppose they are doing good (DLR), also diversified internationally which is cool.

    I first noticed ARCP through DGI bringing it up a while ago, and followed as they acquired a really nice portfolio from GE capital…Great acquisition there that I really appreciated. I have a nice position in ARCP now. And they said that they will raise the distribution to $0.94 annualized when another acquisition goes through. It looks pretty good.

    Keep up the good work!

  40. Anonymous,

    I spoke a little about POT earlier in this thread. There are concerns about oversupply of potash in relationship to demand going forward. POT is one of the biggest players, and so they have a certain amount of control over the market’s supply, but in the end companies like this lack true pricing power. This is why I try to limit my exposure to commodity producers/suppliers, although I do have a small position in BBL because of their product and geographical diversification.

    I could expound on this a bit further, but that sums up some of my thoughts.

    Best wishes!

  41. Chris,

    I have similar concerns about the real estate market in Canada. That’s one of the reasons I like BNS and TD the best among all the major Canadian banks. They’re diversified nicely geographically (TD in the U.S. and BNS in South America and Asia).

    As far as REITs go, you can actually have your cake (yield) and eat it too (dividend growth). Typically, most REITs have a larger starting yield than most other high quality equities, and do have lower dividend growth. But DLR has actually had a very large yield while simultaneously growing it quite aggressively.

    I also like GE quite a bit and it’s one of my favorite plays right now. Not extremely cheap, but I think the company is doing great things right now and the growth will come.

    Thanks for stopping by!

    Take care.

  42. Jake,

    It’s definitely tough to find value out there. This is a great time to either be very selective in terms of where you invest, or conserve capital for better opportunities down the road. Since I don’t aim to time the market and don’t really think I’m smarter than anyone else I continue to invest. 🙂

    I think some of the REITs represent fairly reasonable opportunities currently. Historically, I’ve avoided REITs, especially over the last year or so as they really ran up in the face of low interest rates and flights to yield. Many have corrected quite hard, and that’s where I start to get interested.

    Best of luck!

    Take care.

  43. Anonymous,

    I’m lukewarm on DE. I like the fact that it has a brand name product and is a leader in its industry. However, the balance sheet is not particularly desirable and the CAPEX is typically quite high (and rising). That being said, if it were to fall to around $80 I might be interested as I think shares represent some value here.

    I hope that helps!

    Best wishes.

  44. Anonymous,

    I share your thoughts completely. I don’t find anything about owning rental properties exciting or attractive. I’d rather sacrifice some return and let the income come my way completely passively. I don’t care what anyone says, investing in rental properties is far from 100% passive.

    I’m still undecided on whether or not I’ll ever even own my own residence.

    Have fun collecting those REIT dividend “rent” checks! 🙂

    Best regards!

  45. RO,

    Absolutely. DLR is diversified very nicely, and continues to expand on that.

    DGI bought up ARCP here on my blog not long ago. I’m actually looking at the Investor Relations and the last four earnings releases. I like what I see so far. They’re growing quite aggressively, so I do hope they know what they’re doing. The monthly payout and high yield is very attractive.

    However, the tenant/portfolio concentration is a bit high, especially with Citizens Bank. However, they’re still growing and I expect these numbers to change over time. The dividend growth thus far hasn’t been outstanding, but again I hope this also improves a bit as acquisitions come online. In the meantime, investors are being paid handsomely.

    I appreciate your thoughts!

    Take care.

  46. I hear you in that the market is “expensive” at this time. I too have some stocks on my watch list. What are your thoughts on coach ticker: COH? Today’s earnings announcement was rough! Numbers were not up to expectations and top management is going through some SERIOUS re-arranging with people leaving the company and new executives coming in. Lets just say the price took a serious hit today. I am a COH shareholder and still see it as a VERY strong company. Thankfully I am on it for the long term and enjoying some quality dividends while it recovers.

  47. DM,

    I’ve still got my eyes on KO and MCD for accumulation. I’m trying to aggressively accumulate more quality. In general, things are probably a touch on the high side for my liking in terms of price, but I definitely have an eye on the classic dividend growth stocks that to date haven’t run so hard.

    Integrator

  48. Teach Me To Invest,

    COH is an interesting pick. Some of the fundamentals look good. The valuation is fair and the yield is actually pretty decent after a recent dividend hike and a substantial decline in the share price.

    However, I’m concerned about fashion trends and consumer tastes. Fashion can be a pretty fickle industry and trends come and go. That would be my big concern with COH, as they have to balance fashion, price, margins and supply just right.

    I don’t think it’s a bad pick, but I don’t know if this is going to be a great dividend growth play looking out over 10-20 years. While the dividend growth has been quite aggressive over the last few years, the dividend is also relatively new.

    Best of luck! I hope that helped.

    Take care!

  49. Integrator,

    Great thoughts there. You can never go wrong buying high quality companies like KO and MCD, unless the valuations are just completely ridiculous (which they aren’t right now).

    I already have a large allocation to MCD based on my portfolio size, but I would love to get my hands on more KO at the right price.

    Good luck out there! It’s tough to be a value investor right now.

    Best regards.

  50. DM,

    Yeah, their diversification (ARCP) was a bit lumpy in the beginning but they are admirably trying to diversify their holdings. I really like the GE capital acquisition…IHOP; Jack in the Box; Golden Corral; Burger King; Arby’s; Taco Bell; Applebee’s; Wendy’s; Logan’s Roadhouse; and Denny’s are all leased there….I like that stuff.

    By the way, regarding NNN, I owned but sold…Only 2% growth for the past decade, speaking of slow growth…We’ll see about ARCP, I can see how they can’t raise rents that aggressively but also the acquisitions might fuel FFO. Very likely, I think.

  51. I also own some ARCP and found them to seem to be following the path that Realty Income followed in the earlier days. It appears that COLE and ARCP may be in a fight for 2nd place. ARCP is starting to acquire their non traded REIT structures and internalize management. I enjoy reading Brad Thomas articles on Seeking Alpha and he also writes for Forbes I think now and puts some good articles out on the triple net lease stocks.

    It is great to hear and research the same stocks!

  52. I hear you and see where you are coming from. I like to remain conservative as well, but so far my BDC’s have held up alright and been relatively stable all while giving me dividends monthly. They are definetly more of a risk then my MCD or XOM type position.

    Some reasons I like BDC’s is they can take ownership in equities and help launch companies and enjoy in the success although not every comapny succeeds and have to hope management has the experience to find good opportunities and stay diversified. I believe they have limits to the amount of leverage they can use, and with tight credit restrictions from banks these companies can pick up some of that business for now at least.

    Having many monthly dividend payers is nice especially when you can spread it out to all different days during the month. Just have to make sure do the research, analyze, and prepare as best as I can for any changes.

    I agree with your concerns and investment thesis. Keep up the great work!

  53. Another big drop today for the REITs, specifically DLR and O….are we in no brainer accumulation mode now?? DLR now around 54.9 a share….

  54. DM,

    Any specific price target you are waiting for on DLR? I saw it get below 55 today but was hesitant to pull the trigger, still looks like there are plenty of sellers out there after the conf call friday.

    Regards,
    Skyinvestor

  55. Hello everybody:

    What about HCP?. It has both potential growth and a diversification. I purchased it several months ago at 47$ and I am thinking to add more at this prices.

    But here, in Europe, we observe that you are in all time high and it is debt to a FED policies principally. So I stay with some cash waiting for a correction but I have some cash for a shoot in this moment.

    Good lucks and good purchases!

    ClassicCo
    Spain

  56. ClassicCo,

    I’ve looked at HCP here and there. Those special dividends are pretty huge, but I don’t know how definitive it is that they’ll continue. All depends on operating results. I honestly can’t place the reason right now off the top of my head, but I do know I passed on this investment for a reason. I’ll have to take another look.

    I think you’re making a good decision sitting on some cash right now. I continue to nibble at opportunities and put cash to work, but at the same time it’s hard to find anything really compelling right now.

    Best of luck to you!

    Take care.

  57. Skyinvestor,

    I’m buying DLR right now. I think it’s attractively valued, factoring in the risks. I believe a comfortable margin of safety exists, and I honestly don’t see how it falls much from here unless we have a broader market decline that drags DLR with it. The accounting change is a non-issue. The bigger issues revolve around the business model and the ever-changing nature of technology, in my opinion. But they’ve done well in a difficult environment for quite a while now.

    I feel comfortable owning a bit more.

    Best wishes!

  58. me myself and I,

    Thanks for stopping by and adding to the discussion.

    As far as I understand, the detractors of DLR point to technology as it’s strength and Achilles heel. There are questions as to whether these big buildings that house large server farms will be necessary in the future as tech allows servers to get continuously smaller. Also, cloud computing allows multiple companies to join up and maximize data while minimizing space, so that you don’t have some companies using a fraction of their available server power at any given time. Of course, none of this has come to fruition yet and DLR continues to grow at an attractive pace so I like the company quite a bit. It’s risk/reward profile is a lot different than some other REITs out there, so that’s something to be aware of.

    Take care!

  59. I’m no tech master, but as far as I understand the ‘cloud’ it is a physical storage of data. Just imagine a huge warehouse of hard drives or flash memory that is holding everything.
    The benefit of using the cloud, is that you don’t have to store the files on your own personal system, taking up space. Or having the ability to access the information anywhere using an internet connection and the cloud vs having it at home on your HD.
    Again, this is just my interpretation of the cloud, so I may be wrong, but if it is correct, DLR will be a continual grower.

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