CBL & Associates Properties: Dividend Hike Offsets AFFO Guidance Disappointment

Ivo Kolchev1.64K FollowersFollow5ShareSavePlay(11min)CommentsSummaryCBL & Associates Properties stock has recovered from early 2026 weakness and is again outperforming U.S. REIT peers.This comes as CBL hiked its annual regular dividend to $2.50/share, potentially reflecting confidence in operating performance and the REIT's capital structure.While AFFO increased by 7.8% in 2025, the company signals a slump of around 4% in 2026, impacted by higher stock-based compensation and elevated fixed-rate funding costs.CBL will allocate less capital to debt amortization, a benefit of recent refinancing efforts. Even so, I expect debt paydowns of about $50-60 million per year to continue.Despite no near-term catalysts and risks stemming from U.S. economic uncertainty, I confirm my previous Buy rating on CBL for investors with a 2027-2028 horizon. Thapana Onphalai/iStock via Getty Images Introduction Shares in CBL & Associates Properties (CBL) have recovered from early 2026 weakness and are now notably higher year-to-date, continuing their streak of outperformance relative to U.S. REIT peers. This comes as the company reportedThis article was written byIvo Kolchev1.64K FollowersFollowI ventured into investing in high school in 2011, mainly in REITs, preferred stocks, and high-yield bonds, starting a fascination with markets and the economy that has not faded despite the years. More recently I have been combining long stock positions with covered calls and cash secured puts. I approach investing purely from a fundamental long-term point of view.

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