How Safe Is Gladstone Commercial's Dividend?

By nature, real estate investment trusts (REITs) are required to pay at least 90% of taxable income in the form of dividends. This has helped REITs become well known for their reliable and often higher-than-average dividend returns. But not all REIT dividends are considered safe. High payout ratios, as they relate to the company's earnings, debt ratios, or growth opportunities, can put dividends from even the best REITs into question.

Gladstone Commercial (NASDAQ: GOOD) is one of the higher-yielding equity REITs at the time of this writing, at 6.90%. Given most equity REITs have a dividend yield of about 3% or lower, a return of almost 7% is quite appealing. Here's a closer look at the recent history of Gladstone Commercial's dividend yield.