Why I’m betting on shopping centers

Caitlin Ohara | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Shoppers carry bags while walking through the Scottsdale Quarter shopping mall in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Washington Prime and CBL & Associates have fallen sharply over the last year, down 34 percent and 31 percent, respectively.

Miller told CNBC that the dividend yield for Washington Prime Group is 12 percent and it has a free cash flow yield of 18 percent.

“That means the dividend is covered 50 percent by free cash flow,” he said.

That also allows the company to use excess capital to turn its properties into places where people want to go, he added.

The firm made the move despite the threat from e-commerce giant Amazon, which Miller acknowledged is changing the way people shop and behave.

“That’s why a lot of these actively managed properties … are shifting to more restaurants, experiences, places that people want to congregate,” he said.

—CNBC’s Evelyn Cheng contributed to this report.