When looking at investing in stocks (long term, growth), I weigh the dividend yield as a minuscule fraction of my overall decision. If you are buying "monthly dividend" stocks with hopes of securing a stable, long-term cashflow (i.e. by way of mostly just inspecting their historical yields), you are in for a really shitty ride.

The dividend is a noob test for an investor. Only in very targeted situations should you actually care about this number. Only when every other factor leads you to ??? should you glance at this figure and allow it to push you one way or the other. For example, "Should I buy ATT or VZ"? Trick question - You should buy both. Diversification is more important than dividend yield.

Holding something that yields 20% over the last 5 years sounds great, until the board (or more likely, market/competition forces) decide to light the whole thing on fire. Now, your entire original investment is up in smoke overnight. If you had been listening to the earnings calls, you might have developed some suspicions, but more likely than not your DD consists entirely of websites like this.