At the risk of stating the obvious, the U.S. marijuana industry has evolved at a breakneck pace. So much so, that several companies in the business even pay dividends -- typically a feature of a company or industry that has been active and successful for years.
These three associated marijuana stocks aren't the traditional growers and distributors in the industry. On top of that distinction, they not only pay dividends but also have increased them over time. Read on for more about a trio of companies distributing the good stuff in the form of euphoria-inducing greenbacks.
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Innovative Industrial Properties
Innovative Industrial Properties (IIPR 1.48%) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) specializing in the industrial and greenhouse infrastructure that weed producers need for their business.
All of its clients are state-licensed growers of medical cannabis. These entities typically rent the REIT's properties on 10- to 20-year terms, with annual base rent increases of 3% to 4.5% baked into their contracts.
The company is profitable and growing; in its latest reported quarter, it booked rental revenue of roughly $6.6 million, for weedlike growth of nearly 150% year over year. Adjusted funds from operations -- a more important profitability metric for REITs than net income -- more than tripled, to just over $5 million ($0.54 per diluted share).
Operating in a hot segment of the economy, Innovative Industrial Properties plans to keep catching the fire. It wants to dramatically increase its footprint, although there are potential pitfalls to such a strategy.
Nevertheless, the company is a champion weed dividend payer. In its short lifespan, it has raised its quarterly distribution four times, most recently boosting it from $0.45 per share to $0.60. At the current stock price, this yields slightly over 2%.
Scotts Miracle-Gro
There's something to be said for the pick-and-shovel method of investing -- i.e., putting money in companies that sell the goods and services needed to make popular products. Scotts Miracle-Gro (SMG 1.39%) is a pick-and-shovel play in the marijuana sector; its Hawthorne Gardening subsidiary manufactures and sells the equipment required to grow weed.
The company is a real veteran on the grow-and-cultivate scene; it's effectively been selling its wares since just after the Civil War. It made a decisive move into the marijuana sector earlier this decade with the founding of Hawthorne Gardening, which these days accounts for 13% of annual revenue.
So weed isn't Scotts' main customer sector, but it's helping the company grow its fundamentals and will probably continue to. Analysts who track the company are collectively anticipating a 17% increase in net profitability this fiscal year, on the back of 14% improvement in revenue.
It has paid a quarterly distribution steadily and consistently since 2005, and since 2010 it has declared a raise every summer -- so a new one should be coming through the hydroponic tubing soon. The last payout amounted to $0.55 per share, for a yield of 2.2%.
Constellation Brands
If you think regular alcoholic drinks can be intoxicating, just wait.
In what was a groundbreaking tie-up between a marijuana stock and one of the more traditional corners of the economy, alcoholic beverages purveyor Constellation Brands (STZ 0.04%) bought a big stake in Canopy Growth (CGC 12.23%) in 2017.
Constellation soon plowed more capital into this investment, and it now owns almost 40% of Canopy Growth.
Together, the two companies plan to develop and sell a line of cannabis-infused beverages. If their efforts are at least close to being first to market in a significant way, they could really get a grip on a segment that's sure to be popular with a certain type of drinker.
Meanwhile, even as it's shouldering the chronically unprofitable Canopy Growth, Constellation Brands is doing a decent job staying in the black and growing its top line. This is always a challenge in the booze business, in which every major segment -- beer, wine, and liquor -- is very competitive in most markets around the world.
Constellation initiated its quarterly dividend in 2015. Since then, it's raised it once every year, at times dramatically. From the initial $0.31 per share, the company now pays $0.75. This yields 1.5%.
