: Life Storage boosts dividend 11%, to lift yield to nearly 4.9%

Life Storage Inc. LSI said Tuesday it has raised its quarterly dividend by 11.1%, to $1.20 a share from $1.08 a share. The new dividend will be payable Jan. 26 to shareholders of record on Jan. 13. Shares of the real estate investment trust focused on self-storage facilities was still inactive in premarket trading. Based on Friday’s closing price of $98.50, the new annual dividend rate implies a dividend yield of 4.87%, which compares with the yield on the SPDR Real Estate Select Sector ETF XLRE of 3.70% and the implied yield for the S&P 500 SPX of 1.76%. Life Storage said it has now raised its quarterly dividend six times in the past four years, with a total increase of 79% over that time. The stock has shed 32.8% over the past 12 months, while the REIT ETF has lost 28.1% and the S&P 500 has declined 20.0%.

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