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.

Eight publicly traded real estate investment trusts based in the US declared increases to their regular dividend payments in August, with a hotel landlord announcing the largest hike.

A multifamily landlord in Canada also announced a dividend increase during the month, bringing the year-to-date total for Canadian REITs that have announced higher dividends to seven, according to data compiled by S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Sunstone Hotel ups dividend by 40%

Hotel owner Sunstone Hotel Investors Inc. disclosed the biggest relative dividend hike in August, boosting its quarterly cash distribution by 40% to 7 cents per share on Aug. 3.

A year earlier, the hotel REIT reinstated its cash dividend of 5 cents per share, which was consistent with its prepandemic base quarterly dividend amount before announcing a dividend suspension on April 8, 2020. Prior to the suspension, Sunstone Hotel typically paid three smaller quarterly dividends and then a larger dividend for the fourth quarter to provide a payout that represents 100% of its taxable income each year.

In the hotel REIT's most recent earnings release, CEO Bryan Giglia said despite a moderation in leisure travel during the second quarter, the REIT's portfolio was able to generate profitability beyond the high end of the company's guidance range, which in turn resulted in softer revenue growth.

"Consistent with our strategy of returning additional capital to shareholders, our Board of Directors has increased our quarterly common dividend to $0.07 per share. On an annualized basis, our increased quarterly dividend better reflects the normalized taxable income we believe our portfolio will produce over various cyclical periods," Giglia said.

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Another REIT that announced a double-digit dividend hike was industrial-focused Terreno Realty Corp., which upped its cash payout by 12.5% to 45 cents per share on Aug. 2.

The six other companies that declared higher dividends during the covered month were specialty REIT Iron Mountain Inc. at 5.1%, regional mall owner Simon Property Group Inc. at 2.7%, industrial REIT EastGroup Properties Inc. at 1.6%, casino-focused Gaming & Leisure Properties Inc. at 1.4%, single tenant REIT Spirit Realty Capital Inc. at 1% and shopping center landlord Federal Realty Investment Trust at 0.9%.

In Canada, multifamily-focused Marwest Apartment REIT was the sole equity REIT that raised dividends in August, announcing a 2% hike of its monthly dividend payout to 0.1275 Canadian cents per share.

Dividend raises by sector

The dividend hike announcements in August have brought the year-to-date total to 59 US REITs, or slightly above one-third of the entire US REIT industry.

On a sector basis, seven industrial REITs in the US have reported the most dividend gains thus far in 2023, or 63.6% of the entire industrial REIT segment.

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 August.