SAN CLEMENTE, Calif., March 19, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CareTrust REIT, Inc. (Nasdaq:CTRE) today announced that its Board of Directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.16 per share of CareTrust common stock, payable on or before April 15, 2015 to shareholders of record as of March 31, 2015.
"This is really CareTrust's first normal quarterly dividend as an independent, stand-alone company," said Greg Stapley, CareTrust's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, noting that the previous regular dividend declared in December 2014 was merely calculated to clear taxable income for 2014 following CareTrust's successful 2014 spin-off from healthcare operator The Ensign Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:ENSG).
CareTrust's Chief Financial Officer, Bill Wagner, noted that the $0.16 quarterly dividend represents an annualized payout of approximately 66% of the midpoint of CareTrust's previously-announced guidance for 2015 funds from operations, or FFO, which is among the most conservative payout ratios in the peer group. "We believe that the amount of this dividend strikes an attractive balance between conserving capital for impending growth while providing shareholders with a competitive dividend yield," he added.
Mr. Stapley noted that the company is actively pursuing a number of potentially accretive acquisition targets that are expected to provide opportunities to use undistributed FFO to create additional shareholder value. The regular quarterly dividend follows a $0.125 per share dividend that the company declared in December 2014 in order to clear its taxable income for the year and qualify as a real estate investment trust, or REIT.
About CareTrust™
CareTrust REIT, Inc. is a publicly-traded real estate investment company that is engaged in the ownership, acquisition and leasing of seniors housing and healthcare-related properties. CareTrust is organized and conducts its operations so as to qualify as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes. With 100 net-leased healthcare properties and three operated seniors housing properties in twelve states, CareTrust is pursuing opportunities nationwide to acquire additional properties that will be leased to a diverse group of local, regional and national seniors housing operators, healthcare services providers, and other healthcare-related businesses. More information about CareTrust is available at http://www.caretrustreit.com.