Urstadt Biddle Properties (UBA) owns over 80 neighborhood and community shopping centers located in the suburbs surrounding New York City. The small-cap REIT has paid uninterrupted dividends since its founding in 1969 and increased its dividend for 26 consecutive years. However, the coronavirus pandemic poses arguably the biggest challenge Urstadt Biddle has ever faced, creating an unusual amount of uncertainty for the firm.

Exxon Mobil (XOM) announced today plans to reduce its capital expenditures by 30%, slash cash operating expenses by 15%, and lean on its balance sheet to preserve the dividend. The company's CEO Darren Woods explained his perspective on the dividend during his interview with CNBC: A lot of our shareholders are retail shareholders, people who depend on that dividend. So we've been pretty committed to maintaining that and, if necessary, in the short term using the balance sheet to support it. But primarily that balance sheet is to support the investments in these industry-advantaged projects. That is the focus – to maintain a very strong foundation for the future. On March 12, we published a note reviewing several dividend coverage scenarios for Exxon in light of [...]

As we discussed in our November 2019 note, Ryder (R) wasn't firing on all cylinders prior to the coronavirus pandemic. The company's largest segment, Fleet Management Solutions (61% of revenue), provides vehicles, maintenance, and related services to businesses that need a fleet of trucks to move products to their customers. About two thirds of the segment's revenue is from contractual lease agreements with an average term of around 6 years.

Genuine Parts (GPC) distributes automotive parts (57% of sales), industrial parts (34%), and business products (9%). While these segments are each classified as "essential" businesses and have remained open, the coronavirus pandemic has significantly affected the market conditions across Genuine Parts' operations. Fewer miles are being driven (reduces auto repairs), cyclical industries (oil & gas, mining, etc.) are slowing their activity, and businesses are pulling back on purchases of office furniture and supplies. On April 6, management provided a business update and reassured income investors that this dividend king would continue providing reliable dividends despite this unprecedented environment: