One of the very few marijuana stocks that pays a dividend, Innovative Industrial Properties (IIPR 0.37%), has elected to raise its payout. The company announced after market hours Monday that it is lifting its quarterly distribution to $1.24 from the previous $1.17, for a nearly 6% increase.
At the most recent closing stock price, the new dividend would yield 2.9%. It will be paid on Jan. 21 to investors of record as of Dec. 31.
In the press release heralding the new payout, Innovative made sure to mention that this is the ninth dividend increase it has enacted since going public in December 2016. In fact, over that span, it has raised the distribution more times than it has kept it steady. Since the beginning of its life, Innovative's dividend has ballooned from $0.15 per share to the present level.
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While REITs are required by law to pay out nearly all of their net profits in the form of shareholder dividends, few have managed to increase their disbursements so high and so quickly as their cannabis-specialized peer.
Innovative continues to be a unique stock. So far, it is the only marijuana-focused real estate investment trust (REIT) on the market. The dividend, which it has paid reliably every quarter, sets it apart from other marijuana companies (which typically post losses and struggle mightily with cash flow).
This company has a solid yet straightforward business model, and its uniqueness will continue to set it apart, as will its profit-making ways within a largely unprofitable industry (and, of course, that nicely growing dividend).
