David Gladstone
Analyst · Janney. Your line is open
Good report, Lewis. Our list of potential farms to buy is extremely healthy today. It's nearing 200 million, so we hope to be in very good shape. I'll go out on a limb, and say we'll probably be over $800 million, and if we got all of it closed, we'd be $850 million in 2019. And I'm hopeful that we hit the magic number that I like so much in 2020, which is $1 billion. So that gives you a heads up of where we're going. And just a few final points I'd like to make; as most of you know, our fund specializes in farms that grow fresh fruits and vegetables and farms that grow nuts and other tree crops like apples, cherries, figs. One reason for this is, we believe these farmlands growing crops that contribute to healthy lifestyles such as fruits and vegetables and nuts, mirror the trends that we see in the marketplace, and that it will continue and switch toward more healthy foods. Currently, over 85% of our total revenues comes from farms that are growing these types of food, and that you can find in either the produce or the nut section of your local grocery store. We consider these foods to be among the healthier type of foods, and we're seeing a growing trend toward organic. And among these foods’ groups, that’s especially true of produce section of your grocery store, you see that growing and a whole section is devoted out now to organically grown. In addition, over 40% of our fresh produce acreage is either organic or transitioning to become organic. That's over 20% of our permanent crops. That is the nuts and those things on trees or organic. The organic sector continues to be a strong growth area. In addition, over 95% of our portfolio is GMO free. We've got a few farms in the Midwest that's got a little bit of GMO in it, but that's being watered down, as we're not doing more GMO. Another major reason why our business strategy is focused on farmland growing fresh produce, is due to the effect of inflation on particular segment. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the overall annual CPI generally keeps pace with inflation. However, over the past 20 years, the fresh fruits and vegetables segment of the crop has outpaced the total food CPI by a multiple of 1.7 times. So, inflation is heavier in the fresh food side. And while prices of commodity crops are typically more volatile and susceptible to competition from other parts of the world, fresh produce is mostly insulated from global volatility, mainly because the crops are generally consumed locally within a short timeframe, after being harvested. Ultimately, we believe that farmland is GMO free and growing healthier crops, such as fruits and vegetables, they're going to continue to outperform the overall farmland market in terms of both cash returns and long-term value appreciation. Overall, demand for primary farmland growing fruits and vegetables remains very stable and very strong in many places. And this is mostly along the West Coast, including most of California, Oregon and Washington and the East Coast, especially Florida. Farmland overall continues to perform extremely well, compared to other asset classes, despite some of the downturn in certain regions. This is the index of farmland, which is currently made up of about $10.4 billion worth of agricultural properties, has an average annual return over the last 15 years of 14.7%, and that compares very favorably with the 6.9% in the S&P index. And you should know that during these 15 years, the farmland index has never had a negative year like the two years S&P had during the Great Recession. Farmland has generally provided investors with a safe haven during turbulent times in the financial marketplace, in both land prices and food prices, especially for fresh produce continue to rise steadily. As you know, we recently raised our dividend again to $0.0445 per share per month, that's a rate of about $0.534 per year run rate. Over the past 52 months, we've raised our dividend 14 times, resulting in an overall increase of 48% in our monthly distribution rate to shareholders over this timeframe. And this is a reflection of the wonderful accomplishments of the team here. The agricultural experts, the financial people, they're all very experienced at finding and managing high quality farms, paired with strong tenants generally reliable in their rental payments. Our goal is to continue to increase the dividend that outpaces inflation, and I think we're doing a good job of that. As you know, I'm the largest shareholder and I'm definitely liking the dividend increases. Since 2013, we made 75 consecutive monthly distributions to stockholders, totaling $4.04 per share total distributions. Paying distributions to our shareholders is the paramount important thing for this business. We are in essence, a dividend paying company. We're not out to set records on stock prices, but stock prices doing okay. We were at about $13.54 at our current distribution run rate, where the stock is priced today at about $12.50 a share. That's a 4.27% return on investment paid out in dividends, and this is right in line with the average yield across the entire REIT index today. But when you consider the relative stability of the underlying assets you're investing in our stock. I just think the stock offers a wonderful alternative to those who are worried about inflation and price changes. We do have a preferred stock that is a little over 6.1% return, and we also are doing our Series B, which pays 6%. So, all of this is looking extremely good now in terms of the base of this company. Please remember that purchasing stock in this company is a long-term investment in farmland. I think an investment in our stock really has two parts. It's similar to go and that it is an asset that doesn't go away, it's dirt. It has an intrinsic value because there's a limited amount of it, and it's being used up by urban development. And unlike gold, it's an attractive investment, because it has cash flow to investors. And we believe this is better than a bond fund because it keeps increasing the dividend. We expect inflation, particularly in the food sector and we expect it to grow and we expect the values of the underlying farmland to increase as a result, which is especially true in fresh produce section, has been demonstrated by the last 15 years. So, I think it's just a good way to look at our farmland for – first as a hedge against inflation, both in food prices and other areas, and second looking for an asset that doesn't correlate to the overall stock market. And we believe this is the one. So, if you like what we're doing, please buy some stock and keep eating fresh fruits and vegetables and nuts, and now, the operator will come on and give the instructions on how to ask some questions.