SL Green Realty hikes dividend by 2.8% and pays special dividend

SL Green Realty (SLG) will raise its monthly dividend by 2.8 percent to $0.3033 per share in 2020. Also a special dividend payment of almost $1.70 per share was announced. This follows a 4.1 percent hike to $0.885 per share in the first quarter of 2020. This will mark the 10th consecutive year of dividend increases by New York City’s largest office landlord.

The next ordinary dividend of $0.3033 per share is payable on January 15, 2021 to shareholders of record at the close of business on December 15, 2020 A new annual rate of $3.64 per share yields 5.7% a a stock price of $63.90.

The Company also announced that, as a result of asset dispositions in 2020, including the previously announced sale of 410 Tenth Avenue, the board of directors declared a special dividend with a value of $1.6967 per share, which is payable on January 15, 2021 to shareholders of record on the Record Date. Shareholders will, therefore, receive a total dividend of $2.00 per share, representing the sum of the ordinary dividend and the special dividend. The special dividend will be paid in the form of SLG common stock, with the number of shares calculated based on the volume weighted average trading price of SLG’s common stock between January 5-7, 2021. Shareholders can elect to receive the total dividend in the form of all cash or all stock, subject to proration if either option is oversubscribed.

"All of us at SL Green have worked tirelessly to navigate the unprecedented challenges of the pandemic. As a result of these efforts, we are now in a position to not only increase our ordinary dividend, but to also issue a special dividend. We will continue to work aggressively to generate value that directly benefits our shareholders,” said Matt DiLiberto, Chief Financial Officer.

SL Green Realty Corp., New York City's largest office landlord, is a fully integrated real estate investment trust, or REIT, that is focused primarily on acquiring, managing and maximizing value of Manhattan commercial properties. In addition to its Manhattan buildings SL Green holds ownership interests in suburban in Brooklyn, Long Island, Westchester County, Connecticut and New Jersey.