Ventas (VTR) was founded in 1983 and is the second largest medical REIT in the country, with nearly 1,200 properties in the U.S., U.K., and Canada. The firm's property portfolio consists primarily of seniors housing communities, medical office buildings, life science centers, and inpatient rehab and long-term acute care facilities. The largest source of Ventas's cash flow is derived from senior housing properties, which are run by third-party operators under a triple-net lease arrangement (tenant pays all maintenance, taxes, and insurance), as well as by the company itself. Over the past few years, Ventas has embarked on an aggressive portfolio evolution in which it's been selling off assets in struggling industries (skilled nursing and parts of senior housing) and investing [...]

Consolidated Edison (ED) was recently downgraded by Bank of America Merrill Lynch on concerns that the firm's renewable energy business could run into trouble given its exposure to troubled utility PG&E (PCG). With PG&E planning to pursue Chapter 11 bankruptcy by the end of the month due to the liabilities it faces from its role in causing the California wildfires, some analysts believe PG&E may not honor the solar supply contracts it has with Con Edison. As the financial media tends to do, Bloomberg published a scary headline about this possibility: "PG&E's Woes Have Spread to New York's ConEd, 3,000 Miles Away." However, once you get into the details of the situation, it's one that dividend investors don't need to worry about. [...]

Shares of Altria (MO) slumped 7% today, pushing them to their lowest price in over four years while extending their decline to more than 30% since early November 2018. As has been the case since Altria's stock peaked in mid-2017, regulatory fears continue weighing on investor sentiment. The latest development occurred on Friday, January 18, 2019. At a public hearing, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb stated that e-cigarettes could face an "existential threat" if youth use continues to rise. With markets closed on Monday in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, today was the first opportunity investors had to price in this news.

Broadcom (AVGO) investors have had plenty to worry about in recent months including: Broadcom's exposure to the trade war with China, which accounts for nearly 50% of the company's sales Apple's (AAPL) iPhone slowdown, since the smartphone maker generates 25% of Broadcom's revenue Broadcom's $18.9 billion acquisition of CA Technologies (CA), which will strain the balance sheet The broader selloff in the tech sector Thanks in part to these concerns, which have kept a lid on the chipmaker's stock price, AVGO's dividend yield now sits above 4%, near the highest level in its history. With such an unusually high yield for a tech company, some investors might be wondering about Broadcom's ability to sustain its dividend in the future. Let's [...]

Founded in 1970, Welltower (WELL) has grown to become one of America’s largest medical REITs. The company owns more than 1,600 properties across the U.S., Canada, and the U.K., but 83% of its real estate investments (and rent) are from U.S. properties. The company's properties serve over 300,000 residents and are essentially involved in every aspect of patient care, from hospitals and long-term skilled nursing facilities to senior assisted living communities and medical office buildings. The REIT's outpatient properties see about 15 million patient visits per year.

Verizon (VZ) is the largest wireless service provider in the U.S. The firm was founded in 1983 as Bell Atlantic but became Verizon in 2000 after its $65 billion merger with telecom giant GTE. The company’s 4G LTE network is available to more than 98% of the country’s population (over 320 million people) in over 500 cities. Wireless operations, which include voice and data services and equipment sales, generate close to 70% of Verizon’s revenue and account for nearly 90% of the company’s EBITDA. Wireline operations account for 23% of the company’s revenue but only about 12% of Verizon's EBITDA. This segment includes traditional voice offerings, as well as pay-TV and internet services. The company has sold off many of [...]

Main Street Capital (MAIN) is a business development company, or BDC. All BDCs are basically middle market lenders, which means they lend or take equity stakes in the 200,000 or so subprime businesses that generate about a third of the U.S. economy. Essentially, BDCs serve a market of small companies across the country that regular banks don’t want to touch, helping those businesses fund acquisitions, leveraged buyout (LBO) transactions, recapitalizations, and growth projects. Main Street is a medium-sized BDC with over $4 billion of investment capital under management. The firm deals mostly with lower middle market companies that have annual revenue between $10 million and $150 million and EBITDA ranging from $3 million to $20 million.

Founded in 1992, Omega Healthcare (OHI) is the largest U.S. skilled nursing facilities REIT, with over 900 properties rented to 67 operators across America and the United Kingdom (U.K.). Approximately 83% of the company's total rental revenue is derived from skilled nursing facilities, or SNFs, which are Omega Healthcare’s specialty; senior housing accounts for the remaining 17% of rental revenue. Patients discharged from hospitals are sent to SNFs when they still require care or rehab before they can be sent home. Compared to hospitals, SNFs can provide short-term care on a more affordable basis to save healthcare costs. About 87% of Omega Healthcare’s total revenue is from rent paid by its tenants, who primarily receive revenues through reimbursement of Medicare [...]

In business since 1837, Procter & Gamble (PG) has grown into one of the world’s largest consumer goods manufacturers, advertisers, and distributors. It currently sells 65 product brands in more than 180 countries. Some of its leading brands are Luvs, Pampers, Tampax, Charmin, Downy, Tide, Cascade, Dawn, Febreze, Head & Shoulders, Old Spice, Pantene, Gillette, Braun, Crest, and Oral-B. With 62 consecutive years of dividend growth, P&G is a dividend king. The company has also paid uninterrupted dividends for 128 years (since 1890).

Iron Mountain's (IRM) stock price has declined 16% since peaking in late November 2017, worse than the S&P 500 (down 1%) and the broader REIT index (down about 9%). Last quarter IRM's price fell so low during the market's correction that the stock's dividend yield rose to a record 8%, which is a level high enough that some investors worry whether or not the market is signaling the dividend is unsafe. Let's take a closer look at Iron Mountain's recent performance, and evaluate whether or not the payout is safe and likely to keep growing.