National Retail Hikes Dividend

National Retail Properties, Inc. (NNN - Snapshot Report) recently hiked its quarterly cash dividend from 38 cents to 38.5 cents per share.

This translates into a 1.32% increase from the prior dividend.

The increased dividend will be paid on August 15, 2011 to stockholders of record on July 29, 2011. This takes the annual dividend yield as of July 15, 2011, to 6.0%. National Retail has a track record of paying increased dividends for 21 consecutive years.

At the end of first quarter 2011, National Retail's cash balance stood at $2.5 million.  We believe the company has enough cash and cash equivalents to provide optimum shareholder value.

During the first quarter 2011, FFO (fund from operations) of $31.4 million or 38 cents per share compared with $25.3 million or 31 cents per share in the year-earlier quarter. Funds from operations, a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs, is obtained after adding depreciation and amortization and other non-cash expenses to net income.

The property portfolio of the company and the balance sheet remain in a very good condition coupled with property acquisitions, which have encouraged National Retail to increase its FFO guidance. The company revised its 2011 FFO guidance to $1.49 - $1.53 per share.

National Retail invests primarily in high-quality properties subject to long-term net leases. As of March 31, 2011, the company owned 1,223 Investment properties in 46 states with a gross leasable area of approximately 13.3 million square feet.

National Retail currently retains a Zacks #3 Rank, which translates into a short-term Hold rating. We are also maintaining our long-term Neutral recommendation on the stock. One of its competitors, Developers Diversified Realty Corp. (DDR - Analyst Report) currently retains a Zacks #3 Rank.

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