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Highlights

  • At Thursday’s closing price of AUD 1.430, COF’s annual dividend yield was 10.29%.
  • While announcing its quarterly update for the third quarter ending 31 March 2023, the company reaffirmed its FY23 funds from operation guidance.
  • Occupancy rates across its office portfolios are consistently increasing post COVID.

REIT stocks are among those few ASX-listed shares that provide regular dividend income. Centuria Office REIT (ASX: COF), one of Australia's largest pure-play office REITs, is one such stock that provides regular dividends, although the amount is not fixed.

At Thursday's closing price of AUD 1.430, COF's annual dividend yield was 10.29%. The company pays quarterly dividends, and the last dividend paid by the company was AUD 0.035 per share on 28 April 2023. In Jan and October last year also, the company paid a quarterly dividend of AUD 0.035 each.

While announcing its quarterly update for the third quarter ending 31 March 2023, the company reaffirmed its FY23 funds from operation (FFO) guidance of 15.8 cents per unit (cpu) and distribution guidance of 14.1 cpu, which will be paid in equal quarterly instalments. At today’s closing price of AUD 1.430, a dividend of 14.1 cpu turns out to be a dividend yield of 9.86%.

Occupancy rates across its office portfolios are consistently increasing post COVID. The company reported over 97% portfolio occupancy in Q3FY2023. In the quarter, 35,243 sqm of lease terms were agreed across 45 transactions, boosting its occupancy rate.

COF owns a portfolio of high-quality office assets in core submarkets throughout Australia. FY23 year to date, leases for 35,253 sqm across 45 separate deals, comprising 28,023 sqm of new leases, were agreed upon by the company.

Although the prevailing inflationary conditions and elevated interest rates have become a challenge for REIT companies by increasing their cost of funds, COF is undertaking capital management initiatives as and when an opportunity arises.

High Institutional Shareholding

Institutional shareholders hold a maximum stake in the company, with the top 4 holding a 46.05% stake in COF. Centuria Capital Group, with a 17.17% stake, is the largest shareholder in the company, followed by PEJR Investment Pty. Ltd. and Vanguard Group Inc., with 11.43% and 8.94% stakes, respectively.

COF Share Price Performance

The stock price has decreased by around 5.92% in the year-to-date period, and over the last six months, stock prices have decreased by approximately 11.73%. The stock has a 52-week low and 52-week high of AUD 1.375 and AUD 1.975, respectively, and is currently trading below the mid-range of the 52-week-high-low levels.

Note 1: Past performance is neither an Indicator nor a guarantee of future performance. 

Note 2: The reference date for all price data, currency, is 8 June 2023. The reference data in this report has been partly sourced from EODHD/Others.