Gladstone Land Faces Dividend Risk

Gladstone Land Corp. (NASDAQ:LAND) is under pressure from rising financing costs and a slow turnaround in its farmland portfolio, analysts said. The company's funds from operations fell 12% in the latest quarter, according to its earnings release, while its payout ratio climbed above 110%.

That gap raises the odds of a dividend cut in the coming quarters, three REIT analysts covering the space said. LAND's distribution has been steady since 2020, but operating cash flow has not kept pace with the payout.

The REIT's leverage is manageable -- net debt to EBITDA sits at 5.4x -- but the cost of its floating-rate debt has jumped 200 basis points over the past year, eating into margins. Management on the last call said it was