Is LTC or SM a better dividend investment in 2026?

LTC currently yields 6.11% with a 5% 5-year dividend growth rate. SM yields 2.55% with 5% growth. The better choice depends on your goal: LTC offers higher current income.

What is the dividend yield difference between LTC and SM?

LTC has a forward dividend yield of 6.11% ($2.28/share annually). SM yields 2.55% ($0.82/share annually). The yield gap is 3.56 percentage points.

Home › Compare › LTC vs SM

LTC vs SM: Dividend Comparison 2026

LTC yields 6.11% · SM yields 2.55%● Live data

vsPost on X →

After 10 years · $10,000 invested · DRIP enabled

🏆 SM wins by $191.52M in total portfolio value· pulled ahead in Year 2

INVESTMENT

TIME HORIZON10 years

LTC

● Live price

6.11%

Share price

$37.32

Annual div

$2.28

5Y div CAGR

0.8%

Payout ratio

50%

After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP

Portfolio value

$30.4K

Annual income

$990.39

Full LTC calculator →

● Live price

2.55%

Share price

$32.13

Annual div

$0.82

5Y div CAGR

100%

Payout ratio

50%

After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP

Portfolio value

$191.56M

Annual income

$178,145,793.19

Full SM calculator →

Portfolio growth — LTC vs SM

📍 SM pulled ahead of the other in Year 2

Annual dividend income

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Recession Test — Did They Cut Dividends?

How each stock treated shareholders during the 3 biggest crises of the last 20 years

Crisis Period	LTC	SM
2008–2009 GFC	— No data	— No data
2020 Q1–Q2 COVID	— No data	— No data
2022 Q4 Rate Hike	— No data	— No data

Based on dividend payment history. "Increased" = dividend grew during crisis. "Maintained" = held within 3%. "Cut" = reduced by more than 3%.

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Dividend Calendar Overlap

Combined, LTC + SM cover 0 of 12 months — good coverage

Jan

—

Feb

—

Mar

—

Apr

—

May

—

Jun

—

Jul

—

Aug

—

Sep

—

Oct

—

Nov

—

Dec

—

LTC pays

SM pays

Both pay

Neither

💰

Tax Bracket Optimizer

Which stock is actually better after tax? Adjust your rate to find out.

LTC

Annual income on $10K today (after 15% tax)

$519.29/yr

After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)

$841.83/yr

Annual income on $10K today (after 15% tax)

$216.93/yr

After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)

$151,423,924.21/yr

At 15% tax rate, SM beats the other by $151,423,082.38/year in after-tax income after 10 years on $10,000

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Lazy Portfolio Split Optimizer

What's the optimal mix of LTC + SM for your $10,000?

LTC: 50%SM: 50%

100% SM50/50100% LTC

Portfolio after 10yr

$95.79M

Annual income

$89,073,391.80/yr

Blended yield

92.99%

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Analyst Conviction Gap

Where Wall Street is most bullish on SM right now

LTC

Analyst Ratings

Buy

Hold

Sell

Consensus: Hold

Price Target

$36.00

-3.5% upside vs current

Range: $36.00 — $36.00

Altman Z

1.5

Piotroski

5/9

Analyst Ratings

Buy

Hold

Sell

Consensus: Buy

Price Target

$29.00

-9.7% upside vs current

Range: $19.00 — $49.00

Altman Z

1.7

Piotroski

6/9

Analyst ratings via FMP. Altman Z-Score: >3.0 safe, 1.81–3.0 grey zone, <1.81 distress. Piotroski: 7–9 strong, 0–3 weak.

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Copy Congress — What Are Politicians Buying?

Senate & House STOCK Act disclosures (last 90 days)

LTC buys

SM buys

Politician	Chamber	Ticker	Type	Amount	Date
Zoe Lofgren	🏢 House	$LTC	▼ Sell	$1,001 - $15,000	2018-06-13

STOCK Act mandates disclosure within 45 days of transaction. Data via FMP.Full tracker →

MetricLTCSM

Forward yield	6.11% ✓	2.55%
Annual dividend / share	$2.28 ✓	$0.82
Payout ratio	50%	50%
1-year div growth	0%	0%
5-year div CAGR	0.8%	100% ✓
Portfolio after 10y	$30.4K	$191.56M ✓
Annual income after 10y	$990.39	$178,145,793.19 ✓
Total dividends collected	$8.0K	$190.53M ✓
Payment frequency	quarterly	quarterly
Sector	REIT	Energy
Analyst consensus	Hold	Buy
Analyst price target	$36.00 ✓	$29.00

Year-by-year: LTC vs SM ($10,000, DRIP)

Year	LTC Portfolio	LTC Income/yr	SM Portfolio	SM Income/yr	Gap
1	$11,316	$615.82	$11,210	$510.43	+$106.00 → LTC
2← crossover	$12,764	$656.47	$13,065	$1,069.55	$301.00 → SM
3	$14,356	$697.60	$16,309	$2,329.84	$2.0K → SM
4	$16,099	$739.10	$22,887	$5,436.27	$6.8K → SM
5	$18,007	$780.86	$38,749	$14,259.57	$20.7K → SM
6	$20,091	$822.79	$86,586	$45,125.35	$66.5K → SM
7	$22,362	$864.78	$281,125	$188,477.75	$258.8K → SM
8	$24,834	$906.77	$1,444,621	$1,143,816.65	$1.42M → SM
9	$27,521	$948.66	$12,532,176	$10,986,431.99	$12.50M → SM
10	$30,438	$990.39	$191,555,222	$178,145,793.19	$191.52M → SM

LTC vs SM: Complete Analysis 2026

LTC — REIT

LTC is a real estate investment trust (REIT) investing in seniors housing and health care properties primarily through sale-leasebacks, mortgage financing, joint-ventures and structured finance solutions including preferred equity and mezzanine lending. LTC holds 181 investments in 27 states with 29 operating partners. The portfolio is comprised of approximately 50% seniors housing and 50% skilled nursing properties.

Full LTC Calculator →

SM — Energy

SM Energy Company, an independent energy company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the state of Texas. As of February 24, 2022, it had 492.0 million barrels of oil equivalent of estimated proved reserves. It also has working interests in 825 gross productive oil wells and 483 gross productive gas wells in the Midland Basin and South Texas. The company was formerly known as St. Mary Land & Exploration Company and changed its name to SM Energy Company in May 2010. SM Energy Company was founded in 1908 and is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.

Full SM Calculator →

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⚠️ Educational purposes only. Not financial advice. Congressional trades sourced from SEC STOCK Act filings via FMP. Past performance does not guarantee future results.