Folkestone Education Trust (ASX: FET) has seen its share price go virtually nowhere over the past year, but that doesn't mean the next 12 months will be a replica.
Currently trading at $2.55, securities have traded between $2.26 and $2.97 over the past year.
Folkestone is a real estate investment trust, formerly known as the Australian Education Trust and owns more than 400 early learning and child care centres valued at $795 million at the end of December 2016. The trust has delivered strong performance over the past decade. An annualised return of over 44% has beaten the index S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) of 41.5%.
There are promising signs that the company can continue its outperformance, with earnings per unit up 8.7% in the last half, net tangible assets (NTA) up 9.8% to $2.35, and statutory profit up 16.1%. Dividends (distributions) were also up 6% to 7.1 cents per unit. While distributions are unfranked because it is a trust, the current yield is 5.5% and shareholders receive distributions quarterly. Lovely for those needing income from their investments for a living, and the company has a good track record of increasing distributions since 2011.
Foolish takeaway
Looking for a well-run trust, with good income and growing earnings and dividends, then it's hard to go past Folkestone.
