National Health Investors (NYSE: NHI) is the conservative elder statesman of senior housing net lease: a deliberately boring landlord of senior housing and skilled nursing with one of the sector’s cleanest balance sheets, a 4%+ yield, and a small but growing SHOP segment adding operating upside to a lease-first model.
| National Health Investors (NHI) Snapshot | |
|---|---|
| Share Price (delayed) | $74.56 -1.82% |
| Market Cap | $3.6B |
| Annualized Dividend | $3.68 (Quarterly) |
| Dividend Yield | 4.94% |
| Credit Rating | BBB- (S&P) |
| Sector | Healthcare ยท Senior Housing & Skilled Nursing |
Market data updates automatically several times daily. Last price refresh: Aug 04, 2026.
Business Model and Current State
NHI leases senior housing communities and skilled nursing facilities to regional operators on triple-net terms, with need-driven senior housing as the core. Post-pandemic, management restructured weak leases, took back properties into a SHOP portfolio now capturing the industry’s occupancy recovery directly, and kept leverage in the low-4x range, conservative even by net lease standards. Growth is measured: accretive one-off acquisitions rather than transformation.
Dividend Safety Analysis
NHI trimmed its dividend once during the pandemic operator crisis and has defended it with conservative coverage since, backed by BBB- credit and low leverage. The current payout is well covered by FAD with modest growth resuming; this is a sleep-well income position in a sector that punishes leverage.
The Honest Risk Section
Scale and tenant concentration. A handful of operators (Senior Living Communities, Bickford) drive meaningful rent, and NHI’s size limits diversification against any one stumble. Growth will trail the SHOP giants during the demand boom, which is the price of the balance sheet. Reimbursement exposure applies to the skilled nursing slice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is NHI’s dividend safe?
Yes by current coverage: conservative FAD payout, low-4x leverage, and BBB- credit. The 2021 trim reset the payout to a defensible base it has grown from since.
What does NHI invest in?
Senior housing (independent living, assisted living) and skilled nursing, mostly triple-net leased to regional operators, plus a growing SHOP segment that owns operations directly.
Analysis based on company disclosures through Q1 2026. Live market data updates automatically. Independent research, not investment advice.