Realty Income increases dividend for 25th consecutive year

Realty Income (O) will raise its monthly dividend by 2.0 percent to $0.2255 per share in the first quarter of 2019. The REIT has now raised its dividend for 25 consecutive years.

The increased dividend is payable on February 15, 2019 to shareholders of record as of February 1, 2019. This is the 100th dividend increase since Realty Income's listing on the NYSE in 1994. The ex-dividend date for February's dividend is January 31, 2019. The new monthly dividend represents an annualized dividend amount of $2.706 per share as compared to the current annualized dividend amount of $2.652 per share.

"The continued strength of our operating performance has allowed us to increase the dividend for the 100th time since our company's public listing in 1994," said Sumit Roy, President and Chief Executive Officer of Realty Income. "We continue to maintain a conservative payout ratio and remain committed to our company's mission of paying dependable monthly dividends that increase over time. With the payment of the February dividend, shareholders will realize a 3% increase in the amount of the dividend as compared to the same month in 2018."

Realty Income, The Monthly Dividend Company®, is an S&P 500 company dedicated to providing shareholders with dependable monthly income. The company is structured as a REIT, and its monthly dividends are supported by the cash flow from over 5,600 real estate properties owned under long-term lease agreements with regional and national commercial tenants. To date, the company has declared 583 consecutive common stock monthly dividends throughout its 50-year operating history and increased the dividend 100 times since Realty Income's public listing in 1994 (NYSE: O).