The analysis points out that as a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), Realty Income must distribute at least 90% of its pre-tax income as dividends. The company recently increased its monthly dividend from $0.2705 to $0.271 in June and has raised its dividend for 115 consecutive quarters. Its second-quarter adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) grew 2% year-over-year to $1.09 per share, and the full-year AFFO outlook was raised to $4.44-$4.45 per share, which is sufficient to cover the annual dividend of $3.25. The current dividend yield of 5.1% is five times that of the S&P 500 and also higher than the 3.6% average of the FTSE Nareit All Equity REITs Index.