Best of the Best Monthly Dividend Stocks: Realty Income Corp (O) (The Monthly Dividend Company)

Realty Income’s portfolio is a little heavy on drug and convenience stores at 20% of the total, but these businesses are solidly entrenched in our economy so there is little risk posed by the 20% share.

Realty Income has properties located in 49 states and Puerto Rico. The only state absent the list is Hawaii. The chart below shows the percentage of the total properties (4615) Realty Income owns in each state and Puerto Rico.

Source:  Realty Income Website

So, Realty Income is a well diversified retail and industrial REIT with properties located in 49 states. How has it performed up to this point?

How Has Realty Income Performed?

The short answer is:

“Realty Income’s performance to date is legendary” 

The company is well known as the “Monthly Dividend Company” and for good reason.

The company has raised its dividend 85 times since its IPO in 1994 and paid 549 monthly dividends through April 2016. While the dividend growth rate has been a modest 4.7%,  it is measured over 22 years. The chart below shows Realty Income’s annual dividend payments since their IPO.

Source:  Realty Income Website

This is not a “get rich quick stock” but it is definitely a “get rich slowly” stock. A number of people who invested in Realty Income near the time of its IPO, have enjoyed returns that have beaten all the major market indices. The chart below show the value today of $100 invested in Realty Income in 1994.

Source:  Realty Income Website

To put the graphical representation above into numbers, the table below shows Realty Income’s compound annual growth rate (CAGR) since the IPO versus the major market indices.

Source:  Realty Income Website