Much to the delight of the shareholders, the board of directors of Los Angeles, CA-based Kilroy Realty Corp. (KRC Quick QuoteKRC - Free Report) , announced a 7.1% sequential hike in its quarterly cash dividend. The company will now pay a dividend of 37.5 cents per share, compared with 35 cents paid in the previous quarter.

The new dividend will be paid on Jul 13, 2016 to the shareholders of record on Jun 30, 2016. On the basis of the increased rate, the annual dividend comes at $1.50 per share, up from $1.40 paid earlier.

Solid dividend payouts are arguably the biggest enticement for REIT investors and Kilroy Realty remains committed to enhancing its shareholders’ value. The company has been paying dividend on a consistent basis since 1997.

Kilroy Realty is engaged in owning, operating and developing commercial and industrial properties in West Coast real estate markets. As of Mar 31, 2016, the stabilized portfolio of the company totaled 13.7 million square feet of office properties.

Last month, Kilroy Realty reported first-quarter 2016 funds from operations (“FFO”) of 82 cents per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 81 cents. However, it came in lower than the prior-year tally of $1.01.

The stock presently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the REIT space include Brookfield Canada Office Properties , Whitestone REIT (WSR Quick QuoteWSR - Free Report) and Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc (GLPI Quick QuoteGLPI - Free Report) . While Brookfield Canada Office Properties sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), both Whitestone REIT and Gaming and Leisure Properties carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Note: FFO, 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.

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