Diversified Healthcare Trust (NASDAQ:DHC) to Issue $0.01 Quarterly Dividend

Diversified Healthcare Trust (NASDAQ:DHC) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 11th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a dividend of 0.01 per share by the real estate investment trust on Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th.

Diversified Healthcare Trust has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 39.4% per year over the last three years. Diversified Healthcare Trust has a payout ratio of -5.3% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Equities research analysts expect Diversified Healthcare Trust to earn $0.40 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.04 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 10.0%.

Diversified Healthcare Trust Price Performance

NASDAQ DHC opened at $2.36 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $2.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $2.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 8.46 and a quick ratio of 8.46. Diversified Healthcare Trust has a fifty-two week low of $0.80 and a fifty-two week high of $3.96. The firm has a market cap of $567.39 million, a P/E ratio of -1.92 and a beta of 2.05.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Diversified Healthcare Trust

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Diversified Healthcare Trust by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,078,770 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $75,095,000 after acquiring an additional 169,925 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Diversified Healthcare Trust by 399.4% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 361,367 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,351,000 after purchasing an additional 289,009 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Diversified Healthcare Trust by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 724,574 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,710,000 after purchasing an additional 21,541 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Diversified Healthcare Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of Diversified Healthcare Trust by 97.1% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 79,084 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 38,959 shares during the period. 75.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com cut Diversified Healthcare Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th.

Diversified Healthcare Trust Company Profile

DHC is a real estate investment trust, or REIT, focused on owning high-quality healthcare properties located throughout the United States. DHC seeks diversification across the health services spectrum by care delivery and practice type, by scientific research disciplines and by property type and location.