Published on May 13th, 2026 by Bob Ciura
On the surface, monthly dividend stocks are highly appealing for income investors.
That is because these particular dividend stocks pay their dividends every month, instead of once per quarter like most dividend-paying stocks.
Monthly dividend stocks provide shareholders with 12 dividend payments per year, which could be attractive for investors looking for more frequent payouts.
You can download our full Excel spreadsheet of 121 monthly dividend stocks (along with metrics that matter, like dividend yield and payout ratio) by clicking on the link below:
UDR recently switched from a quarterly dividend payment, to a monthly dividend payment.
Of course, investors should look further into a company’s financial condition and future outlook.
This article will analyze UDR in greater detail.
Business Overview
UDR, Inc. is a luxury apartment REIT. The trust owns, operates, acquires, renovates, and develops multi-family apartment communities in high barrier-to-entry markets in the US.
A high barrier-to-entry market consists of limited land for new construction, complicated entitlement processes, low single-family home affordability and strong employment growth potential.
The majority of UDR’s real estate property value is established in Washington D.C., New York City, Orange County, California, and San Francisco.
As of March 31st, 2026, UDR owned or had an ownership interest in 59,782 apartment homes.
On February 9th, 2026, UDR announced its 2026 dividend will be $1.74 per share, which represented a 1.2% increase and the 15th consecutive annual dividend increase.
In April 2026, UDR announced it would begin paying monthly dividends in the amount of $0.145 per share, consistent with its previous $0.435 quarterly dividend.
UDR reported first quarter 2026 results on April 29th, 2026. The company’s adjusted funds from operations rose 2% year-over-year to $0.62 per share.
The quarterly AFFO payout ratio of 70% is secure for a REIT that must pay out the majority of its earnings to shareholders.
Physical occupancy of the real estate portfolio declined 60 basis points compared to the prior-year period to 96.6%.
The company repurchased 2.8M shares of its stock for roughly $100 million during Q1. Since it began repurchasing shares in September 2025, UDR has repurchased 7.4M shares for $268 million.
UDR maintained its guidance for 2026, forecasting AFFO per share of $2.47 to $2.57, for a midpoint of $2.52.
The company also anticipates 0.25% to 2.25% growth in same-store revenue, 3.0% to 4.5% growth in same-store expenses, and (1.0)% to 1.25% growth of same-store net operating income over 2025.
Growth Prospects
UDR has grown adjusted funds from operations steadily in the last five and nine years, at 3.6% and 3.5%, respectively.
Adjusted FFO fell 3% during the pandemic, but resumed growth in 2022. Beyond 2025, we believe UDR can grow its AFFO per share by 3.5% to reach $2.99 in 2031.
UDR’s growth strategy focuses on raising capital by issuing equity and we see this continuing into the future. The trust aims to grow AFFO balancing blended lease rate growth against active occupancy management, and improving cost controls through its Next Generation Operating Platform (NGOP).
Additionally, UDR targets generating 10% to 15% higher NOI growth than the market over the first three years of ownership following its acquisitions.
Management is placing emphasis on the NGOP, expecting it to produce strong results in the years ahead.
The NGOP is the self-service technology component unique to UDR and has already contributed to controllable margin expansion.
It has improved the resident and prospective resident experiences; a large portion of prospect tours were self-guided or touchless.
Site-level headcount has been reduced significantly since 2018. As a result, less employees are able to manage more units, leading to efficiencies.
Dividend & Valuation Analysis
UDR’s forecast payout ratio for 2026 of 69% means the dividend is well-covered, especially within the REIT space.
The trust has a distinct competitive advantage as it is implementing advanced technological solutions to the apartment rental business, which they believe will help to outperform peers.
The company has an S&P Unsecured Rating of BBB+, and a consolidated net debt-to-EBITDAre of 5.6X (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization for Real Estate).
UDR is currently trading at a 2026 price-to-FFO ratio of 14.8, which is slightly above our fair value estimate of 18.5. We find the valuation to be below our fair value estimate of 18.5, as UDR’s deserves a premium multiple due to the safety and out-performance of the apartment space among REITs.
Therefore, an expanding P/FFO ratio could increase annual returns by 4.7% per year.
Lastly, UDR has a current dividend yield of 4.7%. Overall, total returns are estimated at 11.9% per year over the next five years.
Final Thoughts
UDR has demonstrated consistent results in the past decade even throughout the pandemic, with a fairly safe payout ratio in the REIT space, however it did suffer a dividend cut during the Great Recession.
We forecast UDR will produce annualized total returns of 11.9% in the next five years. UDR earns a hold rating.
Additional Resources
Don’t miss the resources below for more monthly dividend stock investing research.
And see the resources below for more compelling investment ideas for dividend growth stocks and/or high-yield investment securities.
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