5 Monthly Dividend Stocks Retirees Should Consider This Month
Monthly bills arrive on a schedule that quarterly dividends cannot match, but five stocks pay 12 times a year with yields climbing as high as 6.65%. Two of them carry risks that could quietly shrink your paycheck before you notice.
When you stop accumulating and start drawing income, timing matters as much as yield, since the mortgage, utilities and insurance premiums come due every month, but most dividends land once a quarter. A monthly payer closes that gap and turns a portfolio into something closer to a paycheck. All five names below pay 12 times a year, and the highest live yield in the group reaches 6.65%. They fall into two camps with very different risks.
Three are real estate investment trusts (REITs) that own property and are measured on adjusted funds from operations (AFFO). Two are business development companies (BDCs) that lend to and invest in private businesses and are measured on net investment income (NII). For each one, the question is the same: how much of its own cash flow does it hand over?
Realty Income Built Its Brand on the Monthly Check
Realty Income (NYSE:O) calls itself “The Monthly Dividend Company,” and the record supports the name. The company had declared 670 consecutive monthly dividends as of the first quarter and has kept the run going since. Shareholders currently receive $0.2715 per share each month, or $3.258 annualized. At a live price of $56.47, that works out to a high-yield 5.77%.
Dividend safety: Realty Income is a REIT, so AFFO is the right measure. Second-quarter AFFO came in at $1.09 per share, and the payout ratio was 74.5%. Full-year AFFO guidance was raised to $4.44 to $4.45 per share. Fitch rates the company “A”, occupancy stands at 98.8%, and pro rata liquidity was about $3.5 billion at quarter end.
Bull case: Scale keeps the monthly check growing. Full-year investment guidance rose to $10 billion, and the quarter’s deals carried a blended yield of 7.4%. The finance chief summed up the position. Simply: “We continue to operate from a position of significant liquidity, conservative leverage, and broad access to multiple capital channels.”
Risk: Leverage is creeping up. Net debt to EBITDAre reached 5.4x from 5.2x the prior quarter, in a portfolio where 65.7% of rent comes from non-investment-grade tenants.
Agree Realty Pairs a Lower Payout With a Fortress Tenant Roster
Agree Realty (NYSE:ADC) has paid monthly since 2021. The current rate is $0.267 per share, or $3.204 annualized, a 4.3% raise from a year earlier. At a live $67.615, the yield is 4.74%, the lowest in this group. You give up some current income in exchange for the strongest coverage profile among the REITs.
Dividend safety: Agree Realty pays out near 70% of AFFO. Second-quarter AFFO rose 7.4% to $1.14 per share, and full-year guidance moved up to $4.57 to $4.59. Management expects free cash flow after the dividend to exceed $140 million this year. Net debt to recurring EBITDA is 3.7x pro forma for forward equity, and liquidity is about $1.9 billion. There are no material debt due dates until 2028.
Bull case: The portfolio reached a company-record 99.8% occupancy across 2,825 properties, with investment-grade exposure at nearly two-thirds of the portfolio. Credit and occupancy loss was just 10 basis points year to date. Management put it directly: “Our consistent and reliable earnings growth continues to support a growing and well-covered dividend.”
Risk: Interest costs are rising. Interest expense rose to $40.3 million from $32.3 million a year ago. And $497 million of floating-rate commercial paper leaves earnings exposed if rates rise again.
EPR Properties Offers the Group’s Best AFFO Coverage
EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR) owns experiential real estate: theme parks, golf venues, theaters and fitness properties. It pays $0.31 per share monthly, or $3.72 annualized, after a 5.1% raise. At a live $55.91, the ultra-high-yield payout comes to 6.65%.
Dividend safety: The second-quarter AFFO payout ratio was 65%, the lowest among these three REITs. AFFO per share rose 15.3% to $1.43, and full-year FFO as adjusted guidance increased to $5.41 to $5.57. Tenants cover rent two times at the unit level, and fixed-charge coverage is 3.4 times. $3 billion of its $3.3 billion of debt is fixed or swapped. A new $1.6 billion credit agreement addresses due dates later this year.
Bull case: EPR is reducing its theater exposure to roughly a third of the portfolio and redeploying into former Six Flags parks and a Netflix House, with Netflix described as an A-rated credit. Investment guidance rose to $600 million to $700 million, and second-quarter deals carried initial cash yields of about 8.5%. Management stated: “Our common dividend continues to be very well covered with an AFFO payout ratio of 65% for the second quarter.”
Risk: Tenant concentration is high. Topgolf and AMC each produced 13.1% of second-quarter revenue, and the top 10 customers made up 63.7%. A stumble at either major tenant would hit the rent roll hard.
Main Street Capital Pays a Regular Check Plus a Bonus You Cannot Count On
Main Street Capital (NYSE:MAIN | MAIN Price Prediction) is a BDC. It owns loans and equity stakes in private lower middle market companies, so its income rises and falls with borrower health and interest rates. Coverage is measured on distributable NII.
The regular monthly dividend is $0.265, or $3.18 annualized. At a live $54.8336, the regular yield is 5.80%. On top of that, Main Street Capital has paid a $0.30 supplemental dividend for 20 straight quarters, totaling $1.20 per share over the trailing 12 months. Including those supplementals, the trailing yield is 7.99%. Treat that higher figure as upside only. Management calls supplementals discretionary and ties them to excess NII, realized gains and stable net asset value (NAV).
Dividend safety: Second-quarter distributable NII was $1.04 per share against $0.795 in regular dividends, a 76% payout. NAV rose to $33.92, non-accruals are just 1.1% of investments, and debt to equity is 0.69 times, below management’s long-term target. The regular monthly dividend has been raised 12 times since the fourth quarter of 2021.
Bull case: Internal management keeps the operating expense ratio at 1.3%, and equity exits keep producing gains, including more than $46 million from Centre Technologies. Annualized return on equity was 18.9%.
Risk: Falling rates will pressure income. Management guided third-quarter NII before taxes to at least 97 cents per share, below the second quarter’s $1.08. And floating-rate loans earn less as benchmark rates fall. That would most likely show up first as smaller supplementals.
Gladstone Investment Has the Thinnest Cushion in the Group
Gladstone Investment (NASDAQ:GAIN) is the second BDC here. It focuses on lower middle market buyouts, matching loans with equity co-investments. It pays $0.08 per share monthly, or $0.96 annualized. At a live $15.43, that is an ultra-high-yield 6.22%.
Dividend safety: Coverage improved, but you need both quarters to see the full picture. In the quarter ended June 30, adjusted NII of $0.26 per share covered $0.24 of distributions, or 108% coverage. In the prior quarter, coverage was only 83%, meaning NII fell short of the payout. The credit facility expanded to $405 million with due dates pushed to June 2031, and interest-bearing investments yield a weighted 12.9%.
Bull case: Gladstone’s model pays supplemental distributions when equity exits generate realized gains, with a significant capital gain anticipated from the sale of its SFEG Holdings subsidiary. The stock trades at 0.962 times book value, slightly below NAV.
Risk: NAV is declining. It fell 3.2% to $16.24 from $16.78, driven by $18.78 million of unrealized depreciation and a $9.0 million realized loss on the Home Concepts restructuring. If another quarter slips back below full coverage, the regular distribution comes under pressure.
Matching Monthly Income to Monthly Bills
EPR Properties has the strongest coverage in this group, with a 65% AFFO payout behind its ultra-high yield. Agree Realty and Realty Income follow closely and add the steadiest property portfolios. Main Street Capital covers its regular dividend well, but its supplementals work best as a bonus on top of a retirement budget. Gladstone Investment is the thinnest.
It went from 83% coverage to 108% in a single quarter, so the next few reports will show whether that improvement holds. Want more names that pay on this schedule? We rounded up seven of our favorite monthly payers in a free report here.
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Joel South covers large-cap stocks, dividend investing, and major market trends, with a focus on earnings analysis, valuation, and turning complex data into actionable insights for investors.
He brings more than 15 years of experience as an investor and financial journalist, including 12 years at The Motley Fool, where he served as an investment analyst, Bureau Chief, and later led the Fool.com investing news desk. He has also co-hosted an investing podcast and appeared across TV and radio discussing market trends.
