A REIT at the Intersection of Technology and Real Estate

The company announced on June 21 that it had also acquired a 269,000-square-foot data center in Dallas, Texas.

The one-year chart below of DLR underscores how well its shares, which currently yield around 4%, have performed.

Since its Sept. 22, 2011 low of $51.75, it has soared as high as $76.04. It closed Tuesday at $72.84.

DLR has grown and skillfully managed its business to the point where it reported a profit margin (trailing 12 months) of 15% and an operating margin of 30% as of March 31, 2012.

As of the same date, its quarterly earnings growth (year over year) was an impressive 28%. Quarterly revenue growth increased by nearly 13% in comparison to last year's revenue numbers.

There are two obvious red flags. First is the payout ratio, which is more than 200%. Second is the debt the company has incurred. After the latest offering, it will total nearly $4 billion.

There aren't any directly comparable publicly traded REITs. But you could look at the numbers of office REIT Liberty Property Trust(LRY) for an indirect comparison.

Liberty Property pays a 5.3% yield from its funds-from-operation (FFO). It has a payout ratio of 114% as of the first quarter 2012. It also reported total debt as of that quarter of $2.37 billion.

Its forward estimated price-to-earnings ratio is 13.29, vs. DLR's 14.54.