This Dividend Winner Just Announced Its 676th Consecutive Monthly Dividend. Is It Worth a Look? | The Motley Fool

Realty Income (O -0.30%), which bills itself as “The Monthly Dividend Company,” just announced its 676th consecutive monthly dividend. The dividend is $0.2715 per share, or $3.258 on an annualized basis.

The company is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that manages a portfolio of about 15,500 properties in all 50 U.S. states, the United Kingdom, and eight other European countries. Its top tenants include Dollar General, Walgreens, and 7-Eleven.

Realty Income has increased its dividend for 31 consecutive years, which makes it a Dividend Aristocrat®. The term Dividend Aristocrats® is a registered trademark of Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC and refers to companies that have increased their dividend for at least 25 consecutive years.

At 5.95%, Realty Income’s yield is certainly attractive for income investors. But the stock is down almost 3% this year as I write this (compared with the S&P 500 index, which has gained more than 13%) and has fallen about 7% over the past 52 weeks.

That sagging share price makes Realty Income a somewhat questionable investment. And like other REITs, which rely on debt to expand and so tend to be very sensitive to interest rates, the company is facing headwinds as the Federal Reserve embarks on a rate-hiking cycle.

That said, Realty Income is definitely a stock income investors should consider, and right now it’s cheaper than it has been in a while.