Hospitality industry real estate investment trust Ashford Hospitality Trust (AHT 3.12%) announced today its second-quarter dividend of $0.12 per share, the same rate it paid last quarter after raising the payout 9% from $0.11 per share.
The board of directors also said it would pay a second-quarter dividend on three series of preferred shares:
- $0.5344 per share on its 8.55% Series A cumulative preferred stock, equating to $2.1375 per share annually;
- $0.5281 per share on its 8.45% Series D cumulative preferred stock, equating to $2.1125 per share annually; and
- $0.5625 per share on its 9.00% Series E cumulative preferred stock, equating to $2.25 per share annually.
The dividends on both the common and preferred shares are payable on July 15 to the holders of record at the close of business on June 28. The REIT began paying dividends on its common shares in 2007, but suspended the payout at the end of 2008 at the height of the financial crisis. It reinitiated the dividend in 2011 and has increased the payout annually since.
The regular dividend payment equates to a $0.48-per-share annual dividend, yielding 3.5% based on the closing price of Ashford Hospitality Trust's stock on June 13.