Passive income is about producing income from a source other than an employer or contractor. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) identifies passive income as stemming from either rental property or a non-participatory business or investment such as book royalties or stock dividends.

But passive does not mean that investors just set it and forget it. Investors still have to monitor dividend stocks on a regular basis to make sure they are still performing well and make decisions to buy, sell or hold. This has been a terrible year for the prices of real estate investment trust (REIT) stocks, but most of them have not cut their dividends so far and remain great passive-income providers.

Here are three REITs that were among the best-performing REITs over the past 52 weeks and provide rich dividend yields that could provide investors with secure passive income for a very long time.

LTC Properties Inc. (NYSE:LTC) is a California-based healthcare REIT that owns and leases senior housing and skilled nursing facilities. It has a portfolio of 202 investment properties, covering 29 states across the U.S. LTC Properties’ revenue is derived from triple-net leases, mortgages and mezzanine loans.

LTC Properties stock is up 8.25% over the past 52 weeks, making it one of few REITs with a positive return over that time frame. The monthly dividend of $0.19 with an annual yield of 6.2%. 

After missing analysts’ estimates for three consecutive quarters, LTC finally beat the street with higher revenue and earnings per share (EPS) in Q2 2022. It would seem that LTC Properties has now moved past its pandemic-related difficulties and could be a lucrative monthly income stock going forward.

BRT Apartments Corp. (NYSE:BRT) is a Great Neck, New York-based residential REIT that owns, leases and operates 31 apartment complexes over 11 states.

BRT apartments stock is up 1% over the past 52 weeks. Strong tenant demand and increasing rents have been the catalysts for an increase in revenue and EPS over the past two quarters. Another recent positive note was the announcement that its apartment buildings throughout the southeast had been spared from damage by Hurricane Ian.

BRT Apartments’ quarterly dividend of $0.25 has grown by 38% over the past five years and now yields 4.9% annually. With numbers like these, BRT Apartments could be a terrific stock for generating passive income in years to come.

Iron Mountain Inc. (NYSE:IRM) is a Boston-based data REIT and member of the S&P 500, boasting more than 220,000 customers in 58 countries across the globe. Over 94% of Fortune 1000 companies use Iron Mountain’s records management, information destruction, data backup and recovery services. 

Over the past 52 weeks, Iron Mountain has traded in a range from $41.67 to $58.61, and over that year its stock is down by only 1.4%. Many REITS have dropped 30% or more over the same time frame. While the dividend has only grown about 5% over the past five years, the annual dividend of $2.474 now yields 5.6%.

If you’re looking for a high-quality REIT with a steady and reliable source of income, Iron Mountain could be a good one to hold long-term.

Read next: Rapidly Growing REIT Sustains 8% Dividend In Bear Market

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