John Wheeler's questions to Medalist Diversified REIT (MDRR) leadership • Q4 2019
Question
John Wheeler of Wheeler Real Estate Investments questioned the sustainability of the dividend, noting the Q4 payout seemed to exceed earnings by 36%. He also asked about the market discount applied to diversified, externally managed REITs, referencing the stock's 72% decline over 52 weeks.
Answer
Chairman and CEO Tim Messier explained that hotel seasonality in November and December impacted Q4 earnings, but he anticipates performance improvements in Q1 and Q2 will bring the company closer to covering its dividend. Messier defended the diversified strategy, which focuses on industrial, hotel, multifamily, and retail properties. He deferred the question on external management to an offline conversation.