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Armada Hoffler (AHH) Cheers Investors With a Dividend Hike

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Ushering in good news for its shareholders, Armada Hoffler Properties, Inc. (AHH - Free Report) recently announced a 5.3% hike in its quarterly cash dividend. The company will now pay a dividend of 20 cents per share, up from 19 cents paid earlier. The raised dividend will be paid on Apr 5, 2018, to shareholders of record as on Mar 28.

Based on the increased rate, the annual dividend comes to 80 cents a share, resulting in a yield of about 5.9%, considering Armada Hoffler’s closing price of $13.47 on Feb 23. Since the company’s dividend yield surpassed the industry average of 4%, the stock is likely to draw investors’ attention.

In fact, solid dividend payouts are arguably the biggest enticement for REIT investors and this represents Armada Hoffler’s 4th hike in common stock dividend in four years, reflecting 25% dividend growth during that time frame.

Investors interested in this self-managed real estate investment trust ("REIT") stock can have a look at its fundamentals and growth prospects.

Earnings Strength: Armada Hoffler depicts a stable earnings picture. In the past three to five years, the bank witnessed funds from operations growth of 7.2%. Also, the company’s earnings are projected to grow at the rate of 105.1% for the current year.

Return on Equity (ROE): The company’s ROE of 6.23% is higher than the industry average of 2.99%. This reflects that it is more efficient in utilizing shareholder funds compared to its peers.

Revenue Growth: Growth remains a key strength at Armada Hoffler as reflected by its revenue growth story. For the full-year 2017, the company witnessed year-over-year growth in revenues of 17.2%. Further, the company’s sales are projected to grow 8.4% in 2018.

The stock has dropped 11.5% in the past three months, outperforming the 12.4% loss incurred by the industry it belongs to.

Armada Hoffler currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Apart from Armada Hoffler, some other REITs which announced dividend hikes in recent months include Simon Property Group, Inc. (SPG - Free Report) , AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (AVB - Free Report) and Realty Income Corporation (O - Free Report) .

Note: Anything related to earnings presented in this write-up represents funds from operations (FFO) — a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs.

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