Which REITs Have Long-Term Track Records Of Increasing Dividends?

Every day, there are several articles on REITs. I have to admit I have never heard of some of them until they turn up in article titles or text. Almost all the articles are positive, extolling the virtues of a REIT's yield or its holdings or its management.
According to the industry trade group NAREIT, about 1,100 U.S. REITs have filed tax returns. Of those, around 225 are registered with the SEC that trade on one of the major domestic stock exchanges.
As a dividend growth investor, business quality is one of my top priorities. One indicator of business quality is a company's ability to compile a solid dividend resume - not just for a year or two but for several years if not decades.
With only one or two exceptions over my dividend growth investing career, I have followed what I call the 5-Year Rule: A company must have increased its dividend for at least 5 straight years before I will even consider it for investment.
My thinking is straightforward. Since my goal in dividend growth investing is to produce income that grows reliably, I want to select companies that have grown their dividends reliably.
Of course, no one can predict the future. Any company can cut, freeze, or eliminate its dividend at any time. Dividends are discretionary. What's happened in the past is no guarantee of what will happen in the future.
But the past holds clues to the future. Obviously, a company that has already compiled a streak of consecutive annual dividend increases... Read more