Key Takeaways
- VICI Properties yields 8.0% and Healthpeak Properties yields 6.7%, and both reported a solid second quarter of 2026.
- VICI has raised its dividend every year since it went public in 2018, while Healthpeak cut its dividend in fiscal 2021 and raised it in fiscal 2025 after four flat years.
- Both pay out about three-quarters of AFFO: 74% and 72% in fiscal 2025, and 74% and 78% on fiscal 2026 consensus.
- VICI trades at 9.2x forward AFFO, near the low of its five-year range, against 12.2x for Healthpeak.
An 8.0% yield gets any income investor’s attention, and that’s what VICI Properties (VICI) pays at its current price. Healthpeak Properties (DOC) isn’t far behind at 6.7%.
Both came out of earnings season with good news, too. VICI’s AFFO per share rose 4.6% to $0.62 in the second quarter of 2026, and in August Healthpeak raised its full-year 2026 guidance for FFO as Adjusted to $1.73 to $1.77 a share.
But a big yield is only as good as the cash behind it and where that cash is heading. So which is the better high-yield dividend stock?
| Metric | VICI Properties (VICI) | Healthpeak Properties (DOC) |
|---|---|---|
| Dividend yield | 8.0% | 6.7% |
| Dividend growth, fiscal 2020–2025 | 7.1% a year | -3.8% a year |
| AFFO payout ratio, fiscal 2025 | 74% | 72% |
| AFFO payout ratio, fiscal 2026 consensus | 74% | 78% |
| Net debt/EBITDA (LTM) | 4.81x | 5.44x |
| Interest coverage (LTM) | 4.33x | 1.49x |
| Price/AFFO (NTM) | 9.2x | 12.2x |
VICI’s raises track its cash flow
VICI has raised its dividend every year since it went public in 2018. Management says it runs an AFFO payout ratio of approximately 75%, and the record matches. From fiscal 2019 to fiscal 2025, that ratio stayed between 74% and 79% every year, as dividends per share rose from $1.17 to $1.76 and AFFO per share from $1.48 to $2.38.
VICI guides to 2026 AFFO of $2.45 to $2.47 a share, in line with the $2.46 consensus, which keeps the forward payout ratio at 74%. Management says it intends to “protect the sanctity of the dividend,” and that coverage gives it the room to do so.
The raises have slowed, though: 3.5% in fiscal 2025, against 7.1% a year from fiscal 2020 to fiscal 2025, then 2.2% on Sept. 3, to $0.46 a quarter.
The main risk is VICI’s biggest tenant. Caesars, one of VICI’s two biggest tenants, is being bought by Fertitta Entertainment for $31 a share in cash, a deal Caesars’ shareholders approved on Sept. 22 and regulators still must. Caesars’ regional lease with VICI is still unsettled. “That is a conversation that will take place at some point,” CEO Ed Pitoniak said on the July 30 call, and “we obviously collect every dollar of rent in the meantime.”
Healthpeak’s dividend is on the mend
Where VICI’s dividend has climbed every year, Healthpeak’s has gone the other way. It cut the payout twice in five years, from $2.10 a share in fiscal 2016 to $1.48 in fiscal 2017, then to $1.20 in fiscal 2021, as AFFO per share fell from $2.57 to $1.35 from fiscal 2016 to fiscal 2021.
The repair since then is real. AFFO per share recovered to $1.69 in fiscal 2025, the AFFO payout ratio fell from 102% in fiscal 2020 to a comfortable 72%, and Healthpeak raised its dividend to $1.22 after four years at $1.20.
Consensus has AFFO per share slipping to $1.57 in fiscal 2026, though, which lifts the forward payout ratio to 78%. That’s still covered, with less room. The business is mixed. Janus Living, its senior housing business, grew revenue 45% in the second quarter of 2026, while lab same-store adjusted NOI fell 3.2% from the second quarter of 2025. CEO Scott Brinker sees opportunity in lab: “for the next few years, it will be an acquisition game, and we have the platform and balance sheet to capitalize on the opportunity.”
For income, $10,000 pays $670 a year now. At fiscal 2025’s 1.7% pace, that’s about $777 in year 10. At the 5-year rate of -3.8% a year, it shrinks to about $473.
Debt is the main risk. Healthpeak’s interest coverage is a thin 1.49x, and its net debt runs 5.44x EBITDA.
So which dividend wins?
VICI Properties is the better high-yield dividend stock. It pays the bigger check, covers it better on fiscal 2026 consensus (74% against Healthpeak’s 78%), and carries far less debt risk, with 4.33x interest coverage against 1.49x. At each dividend’s fiscal 2025 pace, Healthpeak’s income never catches up: about $1,093 from VICI in year 10 (less at its September pace), against about $777.
You aren’t paying up for it, either. VICI trades at 9.2x forward AFFO, close to its five-year low of 9.1x set on Oct. 5, 2026, and well below its 13.8x five-year average…
…while Healthpeak trades at 12.2x.
This isn’t to say Healthpeak’s dividend is in trouble. Its AFFO payout ratio fell every year from 102% in fiscal 2020 to 72% in fiscal 2025, it raised its dividend in fiscal 2025, and it pays monthly. It’s just that VICI pays more, raises faster, and has the balance sheet to keep doing both.
Of course, how the Caesars deal and its regional lease settle is VICI’s next test.
So what is VICI Properties stock actually worth?
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Disclaimer:
Please note that the articles on TIKR are not intended to serve as investment or financial advice from TIKR or our content team, nor are they recommendations to buy or sell any stocks. We create our content based on TIKR Terminal’s investment data and analysts’ estimates. Our analysis might not include recent company news or important updates. TIKR has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading, and happy investing!
