Not only will following the north star help you find your way when lost, but it will lead you to riches, too. NorthStar Realty Finance (NRF) announced yesterday it will pay a regular quarterly dividend of $0.19 per share on May 17 to the holders of record at the close of business on May 13.
NorthStar says the payout represents a 90% increase from what it delivered seven quarters ago. The commercial real estate investment trust has paid a dividend every quarter since 2005, but in 2009, at the height of the financial crisis, it slashed the payout 60%, to $0.10 per share. Beginning in November 2011, NorthStar began increasing its dividend again, and yesterday's announcement put the payment at nearly double the level it was at the time.
NorthStar is a diversified commercial REIT and asset management company that is organized as an internally managed REIT.
The most recent dividend payment equates to a $0.76-per-share annual dividend yielding 7.8%, based on the closing price of NorthStar Realty Finance's stock on May 1.
