Real estate investment trusts (REITs) are designed to pass income on to shareholders, making dividends a key investment consideration. But you can't think about dividends alone, which is important when you compare industrial REITs STAG Industrial (NYSE: STAG) and Americold (NYSE: COLD). Here's some key facts to consider if you are looking at this pair of dividend stocks.

Since REITs are dividend vehicles, it makes sense to start the comparison of STAG and Americold by looking at their dividend yields. The clear winner here is STAG, which offers a roughly 4% dividend yield today. Americold's yield is much lower at 2.8%. In fact, it's even lower than the 3.5% yield of the average REIT, using the Vanguard Real Estate Index ETF as a proxy. If maximizing current income is your goal, STAG is the best bet.

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Source Fool.com