Dividend research worksheet for REITs and BDCs

Turn a yield into a question you can investigate

Use this worksheet to ask what funds a common dividend, how its coverage was calculated and what could change it. It produces a research note, not an investment score. Start with one issuer and one period. Keep missing evidence visible: an empty disclosure is not a zero expense or a proof of safety.

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Where to find dividend-analysis inputs

Start with the company's latest applicable 10-K or 10-Q and any relevant later 8-K. Use the issuer's investor-relations documents for supplementary reconciliations, but keep their dates and definitions. Check amendments and subsequent events. A press-release headline is not a substitute for the period, attribution and reconciliation behind the number.

Document locations vary by issuer; these are search starting points
Input	Where to look	What to record
Distribution	Declaration, shareholder distributions note and later announcements.	Common or preferred; regular or supplemental; declared, paid or assumed; quarter or year.
REIT FFO / AFFO	Earnings supplement and the full non-GAAP reconciliation.	Starting net income, adjustments, recurring expenditure treatment and common-share basis.
BDC NII / PIK	Statement of operations, income-recognition notes and NII reconciliation if adjusted.	Reported vs adjusted, PIK included, fee assumptions and period.
Credit / asset values	Schedule of investments, valuation notes and non-accrual disclosures.	Cost vs fair-value denominator, changes and missing disclosure.
Debt / liquidity	Borrowings, commitments, subsequent events and cash-flow notes.	Maturity dates, rates, available cash, restricted cash and facility conditions.
Shares / attribution	EPS/share notes, equity roll-forward and preferred or noncontrolling claims.	Weighted-average vs end-period shares, basic vs diluted, totals vs per-share amounts.

A quarterly earnings flow may use weighted-average shares, while a quarter-end NAV uses shares outstanding at that date. Record the distinction instead of forcing one denominator onto both. For a period ending September 30, information published in November belongs to a later information date; distinguish the reporting period from the date the evidence became available.

Use an evidence-to-conclusion sequence

Identify: write the security class, business model, period, currency and scale. A mortgage REIT needs a different model from an equity REIT.
Reconcile: copy the reported result and each adjustment from a cited table. If you change an assumption, keep both versions.
Match: use dividends and earnings on the same common-share and period basis. Keep supplemental payments separate.
Stress: describe one change and its arithmetic. A sensitivity is not a forecast or a probability of a dividend cut.
Challenge: write the strongest alternative explanation and the evidence that could distinguish it.
Revisit: name the next filing or event that could make the note stale.

A miniature completed note

Fictional lending fund, USD millions, one annual period: reported NII 120; PIK included in NII 18; regular common distributions 100; supplemental common distributions 15. Total-distribution coverage is 120 ÷ 115 = 1.0435×. A simple sensitivity subtracting half of PIK gives 111 ÷ 115 = 0.9652×. The implied difference from distributions is −4 million.

The conclusion is limited: under this chosen subtraction, the measure falls below total distributions. It does not establish that 9 million of PIK is lost, that NII less PIK is cash flow, or that a dividend will be cut. Unresolved questions include actual collections, future supplemental payments, fees, losses and funding. The source row would point to the issuer's real reconciliation and income-recognition note; these fictional inputs have no real issuer source.

For an equity REIT, substitute its AFFO payout analysis and trace recurring spending. For a BDC, use the NII/PIK worksheet. Use the debt maturity ladder for dated funding gaps. Paste results into the note with the tool version, assumptions and source rather than treating a calculator result as primary evidence.

Follow a completed filing trail first

For a real source-location exercise, open the Realty Income FY2024 AFFO lab or the Ares Capital FY2024 NII and PIK lab. Each keeps historical issuer figures separate from DFB calculations. Copy the source locations and denominator decisions into your note, then identify which later filing you would need before forming a current view.

Your dividend research note

All fields are optional. Write “not found” or “not applicable” where appropriate. Source links are stored as plain text and are not opened automatically. Downloaded notes may contain information you enter; review them before sharing.

1. Define the scope

Issuer and security class Business model Reporting period Information available as of Currency, scale and share basis Dividend amount and basis

2. Preserve the evidence Source register: URL, filing date, table and page Reported measure and reconciliation Asset / credit risks and funding commitments

3. Make the conclusion conditional Coverage and downside scenario Missing evidence and alternative explanation Next evidence to check

Before you share or reuse the note

Read the source register again. Every factual company figure needs a document location; every analytical adjustment needs a reason. Avoid making a stronger conclusion than the evidence supports. A missing capital-spending figure should remain an unresolved item. An apparently covered distribution may still depend on uncertain valuations, timing or refinancing.

When a new filing arrives, preserve the old note with its information date and create an updated version. Compare the changes in the business and definitions before comparing ratios. The worksheet intentionally does not auto-fetch company data, score a security or certify your conclusion. Use the REIT investment memo exercise or the BDC credit memo exercise to practise a fuller argument.

Primary sources and related reading

This is a DFB educational research framework. It is not an issuer disclosure, an audit or personalized investment advice. See the privacy notice for how this site handles local inputs.