Zacks.com Touting 3 REITs

Zacks.com, the online unit of Zacks Investment Research Inc., Chicago, is featuring a trio of mortgage real estate investment trusts in its Growth and Income Profit Track.They are American Home Mortgage Investment Corp., Melville, N.Y.; New Century Financial Corp., Irvine, Calif.; and Thornburg Mortgage Inc., Santa Fe, N.M. The companies targeted by Zacks for the list are those that have unusually high dividend yields. American Home raised its quarterly dividend to $0.96 per share, after regaining its financial footing in the first quarter. Its dividend yield is 10.3%, Zacks said. New Century also raised its dividend to $1.80 per share, the sixth straight increase since the subprime lender adopted a REIT structure in the fourth quarter of 2004. New Century's dividend yield is 13.8%. While Thornburg did not raise its first-quarter dividend of $0.68 per share (the same as a year earlier), its dividend yield stands at 9.8%. According to Zacks, "despite what is expected to be a tough 2006, [Thornburg] believes it can maintain its current dividend level and expects its prospects to improve once the market environment changes." Zacks can be found online at http://www.zacks.com.