Hotel REIT Ups Dividend
Staff report
Buoyed by the stellar hotel market, LaSalle Hotel Properties has raised its monthly dividend by 40% from 10 cents to 14 cents per common share. LaSalle Hotel properties (LHO), a Chicago-based hotel REIT, announced the dividend boost last week. The dividend increase will result in a 4.1% annualized yield based on LHO’s closing share price on April 13.
“The strong performance of our hotels, including the recent acquisition of the House of Blues and Westin Michigan Avenue in Chicago, allow us to raise the dividend to an annualized rate of $1.68 per common share while maintaining a dividend coverage ratio of 1.6 times based on the midpoint of the Company’s current FFO outlook,” says LaSalle Hotel Properties’ CEO Hans Weger.