2 Top Health-Care REITs to Buy Now

The pandemic has been both good and bad for the health-care sector, and while it stands to reason that this is a most essential of essential industries, investors need to be aware that not all health-care stocks are created equal.

For instance, many senior-care facilities were hit hard by COVID-19 outbreaks that led to high vacancy rates caused both by -- tragically -- deaths and by families avoiding placing their loved ones there. Labor shortages have hurt, too, and operators -- including some prominent real estate investment trusts (REITs) -- saw rent payments fall, share prices suffer, and dividend payouts stagnate or decline.

But operators of medical facilities such as hospitals and specialists' offices have fared somewhat better. Take, for instance, Physicians Realty Trust (NYSE: DOC) and Medical Properties Trust (NYSE: MPW). They're both REITs, but with very different portfolios. The former specializes in medical offices, the latter in hospitals. Neither has seen a lot of share price growth over the past year or so, but they are consistent payers of dividends, providing cash while shareholders wait for prices to appreciate. In others words, they're good income stocks and candidates for a buy and hold.

Source Fool.com