On the REIT front...
ProLogis, and industrial/distribution REIT, just made a dissapointing announcement with respect to 2008 and 2009 forecasts. I don't think it's any surprise that the global economy is slowing/stalling. Many investors are looking for growth over the next few quarters, tho, and that ain't happening here. Today at 35/sh, it trades at about 8x the revised FFO for '08, and the company is forecasting flat results for '09. They also announced a 10% increase in the dividend yesterday, which puts the current yield at 6.5%. At first glance this might seem contradictory, but keep in mind that they are required to pay out at least 90% of GAAP earnings, and based on their announcement it looks like they had to boost the dividend. At any rate, I think its a good company, and a good long-term buy today.
SL Green owns office and retail properties, mainly in NYC. I've been waiting all year for the Wall Street fallout to knock down the price of this REIT, and it finally seems to be happening. The yield is close to 5% and P/FFO is about 11, although the FFO is likely to be revised downward, IMO. I'm keeping an eye on this one still, but not buying just yet.
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On the banking front...
Still a lot of uncertainty, but I just took a nibble at JP Morgan. One of the few big banks to demonstrate any common sense over the past couple of years, they have been profitible every quarter so far, and I expect they'll be able to make some good purchases as the credit saga unfolds. USB is also worth looking at, as Buffett has been accumulating shares.
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As copie mentions, the steady eddie type stocks are not especially cheap today. From a p/e and dividend perspective, JNJ looks like the best of this bunch to me.
Regards,
Duane
