Monthly Dividend Stock In Focus: Gladstone Land

Updated on April 7th, 2025 by Nathan Parsh

Gladstone Land Corporation (LAND) is a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT). REITs are popular investments because they typically pay high dividend yields. Gladstone Land is one of 218 publicly traded REITs in the Sure Dividend database. You can see all 218 REITs here.

Gladstone Land’s dividend yield is 5.6%, which is generous for a REIT. The trust pays its dividends each month rather than each quarter, but the yield is still meaningfully higher than that of the S&P 500.

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

Gladstone Land is a unique REIT. While many REITs own physical buildings in various industries, such as retail or healthcare, Gladstone Land also owns farmland and vineyards.

This article will discuss the trust’s prospects and why it could be a valuable stock for diversification.

Business Overview

Gladstone Land Corporation is a real estate investment trust, or REIT, that specializes in owning and operating farmland in the U.S. The trust owns roughly 160 farms, comprising over 110,000 acres of farmable land. Gladstone’s business involves three different options available to farmers, all of which are done on a triple–net basis.

Related: Agriculture stocks list and analysis

The trust offers long–term sale-leaseback transactions, traditional leases of farmland, and outright purchases of farm properties.

Triple-net leases are appealing because the trust receives a steady stream of rental income while the tenants are responsible for real estate taxes, insurance, and maintenance expenses. Some of the trust’s leases also include a revenue-sharing component based on the crops harvested on the farms.

The REIT has enjoyed strong portfolio metrics such as occupancy and rental income growth.

Source: Investor Presentation

Gladstone Land’s investment focus is primarily on fresh produce, which it believes has superior long-term fundamentals.

Commodities tend to yield less for farmers, so lessors of farmland also tend to earn less. Gladstone Land has an advantage by focusing on the best plots of land for the most profitable crops.

U.S. farmland has proven to be a very strong investment over many years, characterized by stronger returns and lower volatility than other real estate investments and the S&P 500 Index.

Gladstone reported its fourth-quarter earnings on February 19th, 2025, with somewhat weak results. Funds from operations (FFO) were $0.09 per share, which missed estimates by $0.14 and were lower by $0.06, or 40%, from the prior year. Revenue fell 14% to $21.1 million, though this was $650K more than expected.

Operating expenses decreased 11.6% to $13.8 million. Net asset value per share declined to $4.15, down from $14.91 in the prior year. This decline was mainly due to lower valuations of certain farms.

Following fourth-quarter results, the FFO-per-share estimate is $0.54 for 2025.

Growth Prospects

Gladstone Land has positive long-term growth prospects because it stands to capitalize on two major long-term trends. The first catalyst is the growth of the global population, which is around 8.0 billion, and strong growth rates are expected to continue.

This is a long-term tailwind for those who own farmland, as a constantly increasing population will need ever-increasing amounts of food.

At the same time, there is only so much land for farming. In fact, the supply of available farmland is actually decreasing in the U.S., as large amounts of farmland are converted to suburban use each year, for things like housing, schools, and offices.

The combination of falling supply and increasing demand has caused farmland prices to rise steadily for many years. As the supply and demand trends are not expected to reverse any time soon, Gladstone Land continues to have a strong future growth outlook.

Source: Investor Presentation

Future growth will be achieved through growth at existing properties and by investing in new properties as there is plenty of room for future M&A activities.

The U.S. farmland industry is highly fragmented, with significant family ownership. This means the environment for continued acquisitions remains fertile for Gladstone Land. Gladstone Land continues to make meaningful acquisitions, as seen above, and we believe this is a steady source of growth for the trust moving forward.

This strategy has led to a higher share count over time. Acquisitions are key to the trust’s growth. Gladstone Land continues to pursue attractive acquisition opportunities, and there is little reason to think its growth will cease.

These fundamentals have led to long-term growth as measured by adjusted FFO, although growth has recently declined.

We expect an adjusted FFO/share growth of 2.0% per year over the next five years.

Dividend Analysis

Gladstone Land currently pays a monthly dividend of $0.0467 per share. The annualized payout of $0.56 per share represents a current dividend yield of 5.6%.

Gladstone Land has a good dividend track record. The company has paid consecutive monthly dividends since its initial public offering in January 2013 and has increased its dividend yearly.

Most importantly, the company’s adjusted funds from operations have typically covered dividend payouts quite easily. That said, this year’s expected payout ratio is above 100%, something investors will want to monitor.

Final Thoughts

The rising global population and falling supply of available farmland in the U.S. set up a very favorable future for Gladstone Land. Supply and demand factors support continued farmland investment. This means Gladstone Land should be able to continue growing its FFO and dividends over the long term.

The trust pays an attractive dividend yield that is approaching 6.0%, with the potential for dividend increases at a rate above inflation over time. Overall, Gladstone Land is an attractive monthly dividend stock for investors prioritizing income.

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.