As an investor who enjoys the idea of companies returning more and more to their shareholders through various types of dividend-related events (such as increases and decreases of a company's annualized dividend and the announcement of special dividends) I wanted to highlight one company that has recently announced a 2% increase in its regular quarterly payout.

Omega Healthcare Investors (OHI) – On Friday, October 17, Omega Healthcare Investors, which now possesses a forward yield of 5.58% ($2.08/share annualized), announced a 2% or $0.01/share increase, from its prior payout of $0.51/share, for the upcoming quarter.

Headquartered in Hunt Valley, Maryland, Omega Healthcare Investors, Inc. (NYSE:OHI) is a Real Estate Investment Trust ("REIT") which provides financing and capital to the long-term healthcare industry with a particular focus on skilled nursing facilities located throughout the United States.  As of June 30, 2014, the Company owned or held mortgages on 563 skilled nursing facilities, assisted living facilities and other specialty hospitals with approximately 63,733 licensed beds (61,353 available beds) located in 37 states and operated by 49 third-party healthcare operating companies.

Based on Friday’s closing price of $37.24/share, Omega Healthcare now has a market capitalization of $4.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.50, and a forward yield of $5.58% ($2.08). Its trend behavior, although fairly positive in both the near-term and long-term (given the fact shares are trading 5.92% above their 20-DSMA, 2.78% above their 50-DSMA, and 7.48% below their 200-DSMA), should get a boost from its upcoming earnings which are due out on October 29^th. If the company can demonstrate a very solid quarter and surpass Wall Street’s expectations of $0.71/share in terms of AFFO, I strongly believe we could see its shares reach a sustainable range of $38.50/share-to-$40.00/share by mid-November.

Conclusion

For those of you who may be considering a position in Omega Healthcare, I strongly recommend keeping a close eye on both the company's dividend and earnings behavior over the next 6-12 months as it should directly impact the long-term value of its shares.