Build A Basket Of Well-Performing, High-Paying Dividend Stocks

The March consumer price index was another splash of cold water on investors' hopes that the Federal Reserve would be able to cut interest rates three times in 2024. When inflation numbers came in higher than expected for both core and noncore readings, it signaled that the Fed may have difficulty fulfilling its goal to reduce inflation to 2% annually.

As a result, stocks sold off and interest-sensitive real estate investment trusts (REITs) were hit hard. The dividend yields on many REITs have risen over the past few days.

In a best-of-both-worlds scenario, REIT investors would hold stocks that provide both appreciation and high-yield income. However, it's often difficult to find high-yielding stocks that aren't price laggards.

Take a look at five REITs that have demonstrated appreciation year to date (YTD) and have annual dividend yields between 7% and 9%. In addition, these five have diversification among several different REIT subsectors. Long-term investors can take advantage of present market sentiment to build a basket of these REITs while interest rates are still high.

Don't Miss:

• Investing in real estate just got a whole lot simpler. This Jeff Bezos-backed startup will allow you to become a landlord in just 10 minutes, and you only need $100.
• Elon Musk Is Bullish On Austin. Here’s How To Invest In The City’s Growth Before He Floods It With New Tech Workers.

NewLake Capital Partners Inc. NLCP is a New Canaan, Connecticut-based internally managed specialized industrial REIT with 31 properties totaling 1.7 million square feet across 12 states. NewLake Capital Partners specializes in triple-net leases to cannabis companies and provides capital to them when necessary. Its market cap is only $369.06 million.

NewLake was founded in 2019 and had its initial public offering (IPO) in August 2021. Its tenants include the largest companies in the cannabis industry, such as Curaleaf, Cresco Labs Inc. and Truelieve. As of March, it had a 100% occupancy rate with an average of 14.3 years remaining on its lease terms and 2.6% annual rent escalations on 15- to 20-year lease terms.   

On March 14, Compass Point analyst Merrill Ross upgraded NewLake from Neutral to Buy and announced an $18.25 price target. 

On March 11, NewLake announced its fourth-quarter operating results. Funds from operations (FFO) of $0.51 beat the estimates of $0.45 and its FFO of $0.48 in the fourth quarter of 2022. Revenue of $13.02 million beat the Wall Street estimate of $11.41 million and topped fourth-quarter 2022 revenue of $12.18 million.

On March 11, NewLake Capital Partners raised its quarterly dividend from $0.40 per share to $0.41 per share. The $1.64 annualized dividend per share yields 8.93%.

Trending

• Want To Grow Your Wealth Passively? These High-Yield Real Estate Notes Might Be Your Holy Grail

On April 2, the Florida Supreme Court approved an initiative to legalize recreational marijuana in Florida through a referendum on the November ballot. This should benefit NewLake, as it has one property leased to Curaleaf Holdings in Florida and has several other tenants with Florida locations.   

Year to date, NewLake Capital Partners has had a total return of 16.03%. Keep in mind that as an over-the-counter (OTC) stock with an average daily volume of about 32,000 shares, it can be quite volatile.

Omega Healthcare Investors Inc. OHI is a Hunt Valley, Maryland-based triple-net equity healthcare REIT that provides financing, capital and leasing to 69 operators of 862 senior housing, skilled nursing and assisted living facilities across 42 U.S. states and the United Kingdom. Omega Healthcare Investors has no part in the daily management of these facilities, which the operators run.

On March 22, Citigroup analyst Nicholas Joseph upgraded Omega Healthcare from Neutral to Buy and raised the price target from $32 to $35. On April 2, Truist Securities analyst Michael Lewis maintained a Hold on Omega and raised the price target from $31 to $32.

Omega has a total return of 1.62% YTD. The annualized dividend of $2.68 per share yields 8.73%.

Alexander's Inc. ALX is a Paramus, New Jersey-based, mixed retail REIT that's externally managed by Vornado Realty Trust VNO, which also owns 33.1% of Alexander's stock. Alexanders has five large properties in the New York City metropolitan area.

On Feb. 12, Alexander's reported its fourth-quarter operating results. FFO of $4.99 was ahead of FFO of $4.03 in the fourth quarter of 2022. Revenue of $62.94 million topped $53.05 million in the fourth quarter of 2022. 

Alexander's $18 per share annualized dividend yields 8.06%. Year to date, Alexander's has had a total return of 5.38%.

Highwoods Properties Inc. HIW is a Raleigh, North Carolina-based office REIT that owns, develops, acquires, leases and manages properties in the Southern cities of Atlanta; Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina; Dallas, Nashville, Tennessee; Orlando and Tampa, Florida; and Richmond, Virginia. It was founded in 1978 and had its IPO in 1994.

Highwoods owns 28.4 million square feet of office space. As of Dec. 31, its occupancy rate was 88.9%. Highwoods' tenant base is well diversified by industries, and its top 10 tenants include Bank of America Corp., the federal government, MetLife Inc., Bridgestone Americas Inc. and PPG Industries Inc. It also owns about 120 acres of land.

On Feb. 7, Highwoods Properties reported its fourth-quarter operating results. FFO of $0.99 per share trounced analyst estimates of $0.91 per share and was above FFO of $0.96 in the fourth quarter of 2022. Revenue of $206.86 million was slightly below the Street estimate of $207.83 million and declined from $211.71 million in the fourth quarter of 2022. 

On March 28, Morgan Stanley analyst Ronald Kamdem maintained Highwoods Properties with an Underweight rating and raised the price target from $18 to $21. 

On April 4, Highwoods announced it sold nine office buildings for gross proceeds of $79.4 million that will be used to reduce outstanding debt on its revolving credit facility. 

Highwoods' annualized dividend of $2 per share yields 7.96%. Highwoods Properties' total return YTD is 9.82%. 

Modiv Industrial Inc. MDV is a Reno, Nevada-based, internally managed diversified REIT with 42 single-tenant net-lease properties totaling 4.5 million square feet across 15 states. It has 39 industrial, four office and one retail property in a portfolio of about 30 tenants. Modiv Industrial was founded in 2015 and had its IPO date in February 2022. 

Its portfolio has an excellent weighted average lease term (WALT) of 14 years and includes average annual rental increases of 2.5%. It has a 100% occupancy rate. Over the past year, Modiv has disposed of noncore office properties to focus more on an industrial portfolio.

On March 4, Modiv reported its fourth-quarter operating results. FFO of $0.40 per share beat the Street estimate of $0.38 per share. Revenue of $12.29 million just missed estimates of $12.14 million. 

Modiv's annualized $1.15 dividend per share yields 7.27%. Its total return YTD is 17.23%.

 Read Next:

• Miami Is Expected To Take New York's Place As The US Financial Capital. Invest In It With $500 Before That Happens.
• Searching for income? 3 High-Yield Investments To Boost Your Portfolio's Income.