An Undervalued REIT With A Nice Dividend

 | Feb 11, 2015 06:35AM ET

Wouldn’t it be nice to find a high-yielding investment that’s set to prosper from a powerful, long-term trend?

Such a prospect would be quite valuable in today’s challenging investing environment – especially given the dearth of real income opportunities.

While we’re at it, what if this firm was trading at a discount relative to its better-known competitors?

If you think that’s too much to ask, well, it turns out you’re wrong…

Enter (Senior Housing Properties Trust (NYSE:SNH)), a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns independent living and assisted living communities, continuing care retirement communities, nursing homes, wellness centers, and medical office, clinic, and biotech laboratory buildings throughout the United States.

With a $4.6-billion market cap, it’s not exactly tiny – but it’s often passed over for its bigger competitors, such as Health Care REIT (Health Care REIT Inc (NYSE:HCN)), (Ventas Inc (NYSE:VTR)), and (HCP Inc (NYSE:HCP)).

However, a quick glance at the numbers shows that Senior Housing isn’t getting enough love. The chart below compares SNH to the three aforementioned companies: