This Data Dispatch is updated monthly. The analysis includes publicly traded real estate investment trusts covered by S&P Global Market Intelligence that are based in the US or Canada and trade on the NYSE, Nasdaq, NYSE American, Toronto Stock Exchange or TSX Venture Exchange.

Six publicly traded real estate investment trusts based in the US announced higher regular dividend payments in September, according to data compiled by S&P Global Market Intelligence, with a hotel-focused REIT declaring the biggest increase.

Host Hotels bumps dividend by 20%

Hotel landlord Host Hotels & Resorts Inc. announced the largest bump in dividends for September, boosting its quarterly cash payout by 20% to 18 cents per share Sept. 14.

This was the hotel owner's second consecutive quarterly increase in dividends for this year, following a 25% hike that the company declared June 14. Amid the recent dividend hikes, Host Hotels & Resorts' dividend remains 10% below its pre-pandemic level of 20 cents per share.

The next highest dividend hike in September was by casino-focused VICI Properties Inc., which raised its quarterly payment by 6.4% to 41.5 cents per share Sept. 7.

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On Sept. 5, shopping center REIT Phillips Edison & Co. Inc. upped its monthly dividend by 4.5% to 9.75 cents per share payable Oct. 2 and Nov. 1. "The continued strength of our operating performance and growth of our cash flows allow us to increase our monthly dividend distribution once again. This increase is attributed to the success of our differentiated and focused strategy of exclusively owning grocery-anchored neighborhood shopping centers anchored by the #1 or #2 grocer in a market and our ability to drive results at the property level through our integrated and cycle-tested operating platform," according to Phillips Edison & Co. Inc.'s Chairman and CEO Jeff Edison.

Meanwhile, communications-focused American Tower Corp. was the most recent REIT to disclose a quarterly distribution hike in September, disclosing a quarterly cash distribution of $1.62 per share on Sept. 20. This was a 3.2% hike from the company's previous dividend of $1.57 per share and was a 60.4% surge from its pre-pandemic distribution.

During the same month, diversified REIT W. P. Carey Inc. and single tenant-focused Realty Income Corp. also raised their respective dividends by 0.2%.

Dividend raises by sector

Year to date, 61 US REITs have announced dividend increases, accounting for about 39% of the country's entire REIT industry.

About 63.6% of the industrial REITs announced higher dividend payments since the beginning of the year, the highest proportion of any property sector.

Meanwhile, 60% of REITs in both the residential and self-storage sectors announced dividend hikes year to date.

Seven Canadian REITs have declared dividend hikes so far, three of which came from the retail sector and two from the residential sector. The office and diversified segments each have one REIT that announced higher dividends as of the end of September.