In this article, we discuss the 5 dividend stock picks by Martin Whitman’s Third Avenue. If you want our comprehensive analysis of these stocks, go directly to the 10 Dividend Stock Picks by Martin Whitman’s Third Avenue.
5. Monmouth Real Estate Investment Corporation (NYSE:MNR)
Third Avenue’s Stake Value: $562,000
Percentage of Third Avenue’s 13F Portfolio: 0.07%
Dividend Yield: 3.75%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 18
Monmouth Real Estate Investment Corporation (NYSE:MNR) is a REIT engaged in renting and selling high-quality net-leased industrial properties, on long-term leases, to investment-grade tenants. The REIT’s major assets are located near airports, major transportation hubs, and manufacturing plants, since Monmouth Real Estate Investment Corporation (NYSE:MNR) caters mostly to businesses. This is one of the best dividend stock picks by Martin Whitman’s Third Avenue, with a yield of 3.75%.
Third Avenue owns stakes worth $562,000 in Monmouth Real Estate Investment Corporation (NYSE:MNR). John Orrico’s Water Island Capital is the leading stakeholder in the REIT, with 1.69 million shares worth $31.65 million. Overall, 18 hedge funds in Insider Monkey’s exclusive database were long Monmouth Real Estate Investment Corporation (NYSE:MNR) at the end of Q2.
Heartland Advisors mentioned Monmouth Real Estate Investment Corporation (NYSE:MNR) in its Q2 2021 investor letter. Here is what they said:
“A recently announced acquisition of one of our holdings appears to confirm our investment thesis that attractive valuations are the basis of good investing.
Portfolio holding Monmouth Real Estate Investment (MNR) announced in early May that it had agreed to be purchased by Equity Commonwealth (EQC), an office real estate trust chaired by legendary investor Sam Zell. We originally took a stake in Monmouth, which specializes in warehouses and distribution centers, last year as the sector was still recovering from the steep COVID-19 selloff.
Our confidence came from management’s history of prudent capital allocation, a growing list of Fortune 500 customers and a focus on warehouse properties where demand was likely to balloon to meet the growing needs of online retailers. Perhaps due to its smaller market cap, the business was priced at a significant discount to larger competitors while sporting a handsome cap rate and well-financed dividend.
In mid-December of 2020, Monmouth rebuffed a buyout offer from another peer, holding out instead for a more lucrative offer, which arrived this spring.
With interest rates near all-time lows, we believe the search for under-appreciated assets and sustainable dividends will intensify. The portfolio should be a beneficiary.”
