Is LTC Properties a Great Dividend Stock?

Healthcare real estate investment trusts (REITs) are all, basically, preparing for the same thing: The aging of the baby boom generation. LTC Properties (NYSE: LTC) is no different in that regard, but it provides something that not too many stocks do today -- monthly dividends. Add in a roughly 5% dividend yield, and investors looking to replace a paycheck will find the name fairly interesting already. But is it a great dividend stock? That's a much harder question to answer.

LTC has a market cap of roughly $1.7 billion and owns around 200 properties (basically fully occupied). That makes it a small fry when you compare it to the giants of the industry, like Welltower (NYSE: WELL) and Ventas (NYSE: VTR), which have market caps of $32 billion (1,300 properties) and $21 billion (1,100 facilities), respectively. It isn't nearly as diversified as this pair, either, with fewer properties and a focus on just two healthcare niches, long-term care (nursing homes), and assisted living facilities. These are key senior housing sectors.

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Source Fool.com