This high-yield preferred stock is issued by a company that is making money off of storing and crunching Big Data.
Digital Realty Trust, Inc. (DLR-PL)
From Income Securities Investor
Digital Realty Trust, Inc.; 5.20% Fixed Rate, Cumulative Perpetual, Series L; Annual Cash Dividend $1.30; Current Indicated Yield 5.04%; Call Date 10/04/24; Yield to Call 4.45%; Pay
Cycle 3e; Exchange NYSE; Ratings, Moody’s Baa3, S&P BB+; CUSIP 253868822;
Digital Realty Trust, Inc. (DLR) is a REIT that invests in carrier-neutral data centers, providing colocation and peering services. Colocation centers offer rental space to servers and other computing hardware, while providing customers with cooling, power, bandwidth, and physical security. Peering is the process by which internet networks can connect and exchange traffic between each other’s customers, without paying a third party.
At the end of 2018, DLR owned 214 data centers totaling almost 35 million rentable square feet. Locations are largely worldwide, with the biggest presence in North America.
DLR’s 5.20% fixed rate, preferred issue is callable on 10/04/24, or anytime thereafter, at the company’s option. Dividends on this preferred investment are taxed as ordinary income, given DLR’s REIT status.
DLR reported Q319 Funds from Operations (FFO) of $364.9 million or $1.67 per share, topping estimates by a penny. The REIT also announced it agreed to purchase Interxion (INXN), a European provider of carrier and cloud-neutral colocation services. in an all cash transaction. Including the assumption of debt, the deal is valued at $8.4 billion. DLR’s ratings have been affirmed.
We recommend DLR-PL as a Buy for medium-risk tax-deferred portfolios, with a fair-value price of $26.70, which represents a current yield of 4.87% and a yield to call of 3.65%.
Martin Fridson, CFA, Income Securities Investor, www.isinewsletter.com, 800-472-2680, January 2020