12 Monthly Dividend Stocks with Over 5% Yield

7. EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR)

Dividend Yield as of January 14: 7.52%

An American real estate investment trust company, EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR) eases its properties to various entertainment and educational businesses, including amusement parks, movie theaters, and ski resorts, across the US and Canada.

Analysts have not been particularly fond of the company’s business model, as EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR) focuses solely on experiential assets. Owning properties that provide entertainment and bring people together in group settings was a challenging business during the coronavirus pandemic. As a result, the company reduced its dividend in 2020 and completely eliminated it after posting a significant $156 million net loss for the year. The company reinstated the dividend in the second half of 2021.

That said, while movie theater operators are still facing challenges, the rest of the REIT’s tenants are in a stronger position now than they were before the pandemic. To quantify this, rent coverage outside of theaters was 1.9 times in 2019 and has since risen to 2.1, indicating a significant increase in how much rent payments cover EPR’s property ownership expenses. Moreover, EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR) reached a 99% occupancy rate at the end of Q3 2024. It achieved this by selling vacant theaters, bringing in more non-theater tenants for experiential businesses, and growing its portfolio of education-related properties.

During the quarter, EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR) completed the sale of two theater properties and one early childhood education center, raising net proceeds of $8.7 million. The company’s cash position remained solid, finishing the quarter with more than $35.3 million in cash and total assets nearing $5.7 billion.

EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR) has been making regular dividend payments to shareholders since its IPO in 1997. The company shifted to monthly payments in 2013 and currently offers a monthly dividend of $0.285 per share. With a dividend yield of over 7.5% as of January 14, EPR is one of the best monthly dividend stocks.

At the end of Q3 2024, 23 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held stakes in EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR), worth over $247.4 million. Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies was the firm’s leading stakeholder in Q3.