Monthly Dividend Stock In Focus: SmartStop Self Storage REIT

Published on March 24th, 2026 by Bob Ciura

Monthly dividend stocks have instant appeal for many income investors. Stocks that pay their dividends each month offer more frequent payouts than traditional quarterly or semi-annual dividend payers.

For this reason, we created a full list of over 100 monthly dividend stocks.

You can download our full Excel spreadsheet of all monthly dividend stocks (along with metrics that matter like dividend yields and payout ratios) by clicking on the link below:

Monthly Dividend Stock In Focus: SmartStop Self Storage REIT

SmartStop Self Storage REIT, Inc. (SMA) is a monthly dividend stock with a high yield.

This potentially makes the stock more attractive for income investors looking for more frequent dividend payouts.

This article will analyze SmartStop Self Storage REIT in greater detail.

Business Overview

SmartStop Self Storage is an internally managed self-storage REIT that traces its platform back to the Strategic Storage Trust vehicles formed in the late 2000s and listed publicly on the NYSE in April 2025.

As of its latest filings, the trust’s portfolio consists of 188 owned operating properties comprising about 132,000 units and 14.9 million net rentable square feet across 24 U.S. states and Canadian provinces.

Its portfolio is concentrated in large, demographically attractive markets including Toronto (14% of NRSF), Miami–Fort Lauderdale (8%), Houston (8%), Los Angeles (6%), Las Vegas (6%), Asheville (5%), Denver (4%), Tampa (3%), New York–Newark (3%), and Dayton (3%).

The properties are primarily modern self-storage facilities offering a mix of climate-controlled, drive-up, and specialty storage formats.

Along with its owned real estate, SmartStop operates a sizable managed and third-party platform, overseeing 461 owned and managed properties totaling approximately 35.2 million square feet across North America.

On February 25th, 2026, SmartStop Self Storage REIT reported full year 2025 results. SmartStop generated total self-storage-related revenues of about $249.5 million, representing a year-over-year increase of about $30.5 million.

On a same-store basis, revenue increased 1.6% and NOI increased 0.6%, supported by a 30 basis point increase in average physical occupancy to 92.5% and a 0.3% increase in annualized rent per occupied square foot to about $20.03.

FFO, as adjusted, attributable to common stockholders and OP unit holders rose to about $95.5 million, up about $48.7 million year over year, while FFO per diluted share increased to $1.87, up about $0.17 from 2024.

Growth Prospects

SmartStop’s results before its 2025 IPO show the journey of a sponsor-led, non-traded REIT and managed-REIT platform rather than a single, clean public-company operating history.

For much of that period, the company (and its predecessor Strategic Storage Trust vehicles) was operating a relatively smaller owned portfolio.

It was also absorbing acquisitions and mergers among affiliated non-traded REITs, and carrying a capital structure designed for private vehicles, including higher-cost debt, preferred equity, external management economics, and significant overhead associated with building a national platform.

The portfolio is now much larger, more mature, and more efficiently operated than pre-2025, benefiting from years of acquisitions, integration, revenue management improvements, and operating leverage.

Moving forward, we expect FFO per share growth of 3% per year over the medium term to be powered by same-store NOI growth and accretive acquisitions, offset by higher interest expense and some dilution from funding growth.

Dividend & Valuation Analysis

Valuing SmartStop today is challenging because it has very little track record as a public REIT in its current form, and the post-IPO company is economically very different from the pre-IPO entity, making historical data a poor guide.

We have set our fair P/FFO at 15x. SMA is currently trading at a P/FFO ratio of 17.7, which means the stock appears to be overvalued.

A declining valuation multiple could reduce annual returns by -3.6% over the next five years.

In addition, we expect 3% annual FFO-per-share growth, and SMA is currently yielding 5.1%. Putting it all together, annual returns are expected to reach 4.5% per year.

Final Thoughts

Overall, SmartStop looks like a credible, scaled self-storage platform with improving fundamentals and a decent yield, but as a newly public REIT it still needs time to prove itself through a full cycle.

We forecast annualized returns of 4.5% over the next five years, to be driven by our FFO per share growth estimate of 3% and the starting dividend yield of 5.1%, partially offset by a valuation headwind.

Still, we rate the stock a sell for now as it has yet to show dividend growth.