Yesterday, CEOWorld Magazine listed Extra Space Storage as one of its "Top Best Dividend Stocks to Own in 2010." Extra Space is in good company on CEOWorld's list -- the other stocks on the list include market giants Altria Group (the parent company of Philip Morris), Best Buy, Colgate-Palmolive, Harsco (formerly the Harrisburg Steel Corporation), Intel, Sysco, and Visa.
Explaining CEOWorld's choice of Extra Space for the list, writer Amarendra Bhushan says that Extra Space is the second largest self-storage operator in the United States and that it "is a growth-oriented company creating a new standard in the self-storage industry. Both customers and communities benefit from Extra Space Storage's professional approach to storage." She goes on, "Featuring attractive, convenient and secure facilities operated by professional managers, Extra Space Storage seeks to change the association of self storage as a temporary holding place for rarely-used things to a desirable, safe, and customer-oriented facility perfectly suited for maintaining and accessing valued personal and business possessions."
Bhushan does not say what the stocks on the "Top Best Dividend Stocks" list have in common -- aside from being good investments. However, a careful reading of the list shows that the companies listed are leaders in their industries and/or have employed innovative or technologically-oriented strategies to not only survive the recession, but also expand and grow.
No other self-storage companies appear on the "Top Best Dividend Stocks" list, but Extra Space's inclusion bodes well for the industry as a whole going into the new year. While the real estate market in general is still relatively weak -- some market analysts say that it is beginning to improve, while others feel that it has not hit rock bottom yet -- self storage is one sector of the real estate market that never dropped very far and is already on its way back up.
Less well-known names on the "Top Best Dividend Stocks" list include Cellcom Israel (which operates an HSPA 3.5 Generation network with the fastest high speed content transmission available anywhere in the world), Lancaster Colony (a marketer and manufacturer of specialty foods, glassware, and candles), Laclede Group (the parent company of Laclede Gas Company, Missouri's largest natural gas distribution utility), and NSTAR (the largest investor-owned electric and gas utility in Massachusetts), PennantPark Investment Corporation (a U.S. middle-market investment company), and Royal Gold (a company that invests in precious metals mines).