This week the portfolio I'm building (my Safari To Sweet Success portfolio) seeks a high-yield and growing stock in the real estate sector. 

That real estate sector sector includes nine industries all related to real property ownership. The industries are: general real estate; real estate services; and seven varieties of real estate investment trusts: diversified, healthcare facilities, hotel & motel, industrial, office, residential, and retail. Today I'm reviewing a small-cap retail real estate investment trust or REIT. The trust's name is Agree Realty Corporation (ADC).

Agree Realty Corporation is engaged in real estate activities primarily in the United States. It manages retail properties for the purpose of generating shareholders income on a consistent basis. As of December 31, 2017, the Company owned and operated a portfolio of 436 properties, located in 43 states and containing approximately 8.7 million square feet of gross leasable space. The company was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan

I use three key data points gauge the value of any dividend equity or fund like Agree Realty Corporation: 

(1) Price

(2) Dividends

(3) Returns

After those three, four more keys will finally unlock an equity or fund in which to invest. No matter what, it's the first three primary traits that best tell whether a company has made, is making, and will make money. 

ADC Price

Agree's price was $53.81 per share at yesterday's market close.A year ago its price was $48.35 for a gain of $5.46 per share in the past year. Assuming Agree's price will continue to trade in the range of $45.00 to $65.00 next year, its price could grow another $5.46 from $53.81 to $59.27 by June 15, 2019. 

ADC Dividends

Agree's most recently declared monthly dividend was $0.54 per share payable in July.That $0.54 monthly dividend equates to an estimated annual payout of $2.16 for 2018-19 which yields 4% at yesterday's $53.81 closing stock price.  

Gains For ADC?

Agree's $5.46 estimated year over year price gain plus an anticipated dividend of$2.16 makes a projected gross annual gain of $7.62 per share, which will be reduced by the costs to trade those shares. A little over $1,000.00 invested today at the $53.81 price buys 19 shares. A $10 broker fee paid half at purchase and half at sale subtracts $0.53 per share.

Taking that $0.53 brokerage cost out of the estimated $7.62 gross gain per share leaves a net gain of $7.09 X 19 shares = $134.71 or a 13% potential net gain on a $1,022.39 investment.

Therefore, Agree Realty Corporation, now shows a possible 13% net gain including a 4% dividend yield. 

Nine analysts cover this stock: Six say "buy" ADC. One says ADC will "outperform". Two say "hold" the stock.

Their nine-analyst consensus recommendation is 1.5 or "Buy" and their median price target is just $0.50 over the current market price. Y Charts rates ADC "neutral" for an overall "Y" rating. Y Charts also shows "good" for a Value score of 8 out of ten points. And YCharts ranks ADC "strong" with 8 out of 10possible Fundamental points. Y Charts Historic Valuation score for ADC is 2.83% undervalued at a $55.38 historic valuation.

You could look at all those numbers like this: Agree Realty Corporation  has made money, is making money, and could net a 10% to 13% netgain next year including a 4% annual dividend yield paid out quarterly. It could be more, it could be less.

The above speculation is conjecture based on past year performance. Actual results remain to be seen. They could turn out to be far higher or lower. More study is required for you to determine if Agree Realty Corporation is worth your time and money.