Investors Love 5 Dividend Stocks That Pay Dependable Monthly Dividends
Some REITs pay dividends quarterly, but these five send checks every single month, and their cash flow coverage tells a more interesting story than the yield numbers alone.
Most dividend stocks pay four times a year. The five real estate investment trusts below pay every month, which lines income up with the bills it has to cover. Each one backs that schedule with funds from operations (FFO) coverage, the cash flow measure that matters for REITs, and each focuses on quality real estate. The group’s anchor set the tone on September 8, when it declared its 136th common stock monthly dividend increase.
Realty Income: Ultra-High Yield After a Sharp Pullback
Realty Income (NYSE:O) yields 6.09% on its forward annualized dividend of $3.258 at $53.52 per share. The stock has fallen 12.54% over the past month and trades near its 52-week low of $53.28. That drop pushed it into ultra-high-yield territory.
Coverage remains solid. Second-quarter AFFO rose 3.8% to $1.09 per share, and 2026 AFFO guidance was raised to $4.44 to $4.45, comfortably above the payout. Fitch rates the company ‘A’ with a Stable Outlook, net debt to EBITDAre is 5.4x, and occupancy stands at 98.8%. The second quarter marked its 115th consecutive quarterly dividend increase, and the company has declared more than 670 straight monthly dividends.
Bull case: Realty Income’s scale lets it put money to work in growth areas, including a $6 billion hyperscale data center JV and a 2026 investment target of $10.0 billion. Risk: 65.7% of annualized base rent comes from tenants without investment-grade ratings, and impairments pushed second-quarter GAAP EPS to $0.37, missing the $0.42 estimate.
Agree Realty: Fortress Balance Sheet and Rising Monthly Checks
Agree Realty (NYSE:ADC) yields 4.91% on a forward annualized dividend of $3.204 at $65.26. That is the lowest yield in this group, and it comes with the strongest tenant base: 65.8% of rent comes from investment-grade retailers, and occupancy is 99.8%. Its issuer ratings are A− from Fitch, Baa1 from Moody’s, and BBB+ from S&P.
Second-quarter AFFO per share rose 7.4% to $1.14, and full-year guidance moved up to $4.57 to $4.59. Agree has paid monthly since January 2021, when its monthly dividend was $0.207, and it has raised the payout steadily to $0.267, a 4.3% year-over-year increase. In total it has paid 172 consecutive common dividends.
Bull case: CEO Joey Agree pointed to “a fortress balance sheet backed by $1.9 billion of liquidity” that supports record acquisition volume. Risk: Interest expense rose to $40.3 million from $32.3 million, and heavy equity issuance diluted second-quarter EPS to $0.44, missing the $0.47 consensus.
EPR Properties: Ultra-High Yield With Room to Spare
EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR) pays $0.31 per month, or $3.72 annualized. At $56.20, that works out to an ultra-high yield of 6.62%. CFO Mark Peterson said, “[O]ur common dividend continues to be very well covered with an AFFO payout ratio of 65% for the second quarter.” Quarterly AFFO climbed 15.3% to $1.43 per share, and 2026 FFO as adjusted guidance rose to $5.41 to $5.57. Interest coverage is 4.0 times, and the portfolio is 99% leased or operated.
The dividend record needs context. EPR suspended its payout after April 2020 and restarted it at $0.25 in July 2021. It has raised the payout several times since then, including a 5.1% increase this year.
Bull case: The company invested $440.8 million in the quarter at roughly 8.5% initial yields, including seven theme parks. Theaters have shrunk to roughly a third of the portfolio. Risk: The two largest tenants, a golf-entertainment chain and a movie theater operator, each account for 13.1% of revenue.
Apple Hospitality REIT: Well-Covered Hotel Income
Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) pays $0.08 monthly, a 5.90% yield at $16.27. Shares have gained 44.51% year to date, so new buyers lock in a lower yield than earlier this year. Second-quarter MFFO rose 8.3% to $0.52 per share, far above the monthly payout. Comparable RevPAR grew 5.3%, and adjusted hotel EBITDA margin expanded to 38.1%.
The $0.08 rate has held through 2025 and 2026, and special year-end payments of $0.13 followed in December 2023 and December 2024. During the pandemic, the payout fell from $0.10 monthly to $0.01 quarterly in 2021.
Bull case: Management raised 2026 Adjusted EBITDAre guidance to $453 million to $476 million, and preliminary July RevPAR rose 5.5%. Risk: Hotel cash flows are cyclical, and the company carries about $1.22 billion of variable-rate debt.
LTC Properties: Steady Monthly Check Funding a Growth Pivot
LTC Properties (NYSE:LTC) pays $0.19 monthly, or $2.28 annualized. At $42.91, that is a 5.31% yield. The rate has held steady since January 2017. Core FFO guidance of $2.76 to $2.78 covers the dividend. Debt to adjusted EBITDA is 4.2 times, fixed-charge coverage is 4.9 times, and pro forma liquidity is $648 million.
Bull case: LTC is moving into senior housing it operates through third-party managers (SHOP). Management expects that segment to reach about 50% of annualized NOI by year-end and sees a path to 75% by the end of 2028. As management put it, “What you see this quarter is our transformative SHOP strategy converting into results.” Risk: Core FAD slipped to $0.70 from $0.71 because of share issuance and higher interest costs. A $180 million loan payoff that was modeled for October 1 could also arrive weeks late.
Monthly Income Built on Real Coverage
All five REITs pay monthly from cash flow that covers the dividend, across net lease retail, experiential, hotel, and senior housing properties. Realty Income and EPR now offer ultra-high yields. Agree Realty brings the strongest credit profile, Apple Hospitality has the best momentum, and LTC has a long-running flat payout funding its shift into senior housing. Watch third-quarter FFO results to see whether that coverage holds.
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Lee Jackson has covered Wall Street analysts' equity and debt research and equity strategy daily for 24/7 Wall St. since 2012. His broad, diverse career, including a stint as creative services director at an NBC affiliate in Austin, Texas, gives him unique insight into the financial industry.
Lee Jackson's journey in the financial industry spans more than 30 years, including nearly two decades as an institutional equity salesperson at Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, and Morgan Stanley. His career spanned pivotal sell-side Wall Street events, from the dot-com rise and bubble to the Long-Term Capital Management debacle, 9/11, and the Great Recession of 2008. This reflects his resilience and adaptability amid market volatility.
Lee Jackson’s practical financial industry experience, gained through a career at some of the biggest banks and brokerage firms, is complemented by a lifetime of writing across various platforms. This unique combination allows him to shed light on the intricacies of Wall Street in a way only someone with deep insider experience and knowledge can. Moreover, his extensive network across Wall Street continues to provide direct access for him and 24/7 Wall St., a privilege few firms enjoy.
Since 2012, Jackson’s work for 24/7 Wall St. has been featured in Barron’s, Yahoo Finance, MarketWatch, Business Insider, TradingView, Real Money, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Benzinga, and other media outlets. He attended the prestigious Cranbrook Schools in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and has a degree in broadcasting from the Specs Howard School of Media Arts.
