BRT Realty Trust to pay $1.15 special dividend

BRT Realty Trust to pay $1.15 special dividend in cash and shares

• On 4:58 pm EDT, Monday September 14, 2009

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Shares of BRT Realty Trust surged more than 14 percent on Monday after it said it would pay a $1.15 per share special dividend.

The dividend is payable on Oct. 30 to shareholders of record as of Sept. 30.

Shares gained 77 cents, or 14.4 percent, to close at $6.12. They have traded between $2.30 and $11.27 in the past year.

In after-hours trading, the stock fell 13 cents, or 2.1 percent.

Federal regulations allow real estate investment trusts to pay 90 percent of the special dividend in the form of common shares and 10 percent in cash.

Shareholders will be taxed on the special dividend as a long-term capital gain.

Shareholders may elect to receive payment of the special dividend all in cash or all in common shares, and those who do not make an election will be deemed to have elected to receive their dividend in shares, the company said.

If cash choices exceed 10 percent of the aggregate dividend amount, the cash portion will be prorated among all shareholders electing to receive cash and those shareholders will receive the balance of the dividend in shares.

Shares included in the dividend will be valued at the volume weighted average trading price on the New York Stock Exchange on Oct. 19, 20, and 21, 2009.

Buzz up!