On Friday, Innovative Industrial Properties (IIPR 1.53%) made its first dividend declaration of 2020, announcing it will distribute $1.00 per share on April 15 to stockholders of record as of the close of business March 31. At Friday's closing share price, that would give it an annualized yield of just about 5.6%.
The payout is equal to the one handed out in January, but the company was not shy to point out that it's 122% higher than that declared at the beginning of 2019.
Since Innovative is a real estate investment trust, it's required to distribute at least 90% of its net profits to shareholders in the form of dividends.
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The company has been a steady and reliable dividend player almost since the beginning of its life as a publicly traded company (it had its IPO at the end of 2016). It handed out its first distribution of $0.15 per share in the summer of 2017.
Last year, it lifted the payout four quarters in a row -- and it has grown its revenue and profitability quite substantially. Given these dynamics, it's realistic to expect that the company will raise its payout again in the near future, although it has not given any official indication it's planning to do so.
Shares of Innovative, considered a marijuana stock because it exclusively owns properties used by cannabis companies, were about 9% higher in trading on Friday. That was in line with the broader market -- the S&P 500 was also up by about 9% on the day.
