Life Storage (NYSE: LSI) deserves to be included in the pantheon of powerhouse dividend stocks for a couple of good reasons: Its proven performance record and its position in a niche that's still growing.

For starters, as a real estate investment trust (REIT), Life Storage is obliged to pay out at least 90% of its taxable income as dividends each year. Over the past five years, it's grown that quarterly dividend by 79% and its total return by 117%.

That return is from a portfolio that this 35-year veteran of the self-storage business has now grown to 1,172 stores in 37 U.S. states, including 414 that it manages for third parties for a fee. That's part of an effective four-pronged strategy that also includes joint ventures that let it extend its own resources with partners to invest in new properties, a program targeted to e-commerce vendors, and self-service, touchless rentals that provide nearly 40% of its rental income.

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Source Fool.com