Many Happy Returns: REITs crowd a list of stocks with mega yields
Here's the Barron's article mentioned a few days ago.
FOR YIELD-YEARNING INVESTORS Bear Stearns has compiled a lengthy list of stocks that return anywhere from 4% to nearly 20%. The firm's Global Equity Linked Strategy team scanned issues in the Russell 3000, the Nasdaq 100 and the Standard & Poor's 1500, then chose those that have a Bloomberg-projected 12-month dividend yield greater than 4%. Many are real-estate investment trusts, including four of the top five Big Board-listed names that follow.
• Coming in with a projected 19.1% return was Newcastle Investment (ticker: NCT). Currently priced at a bit above 18, Newcastle, which has a $1 billion market-capitalization, invests in credit-sensitive real-estate securities, including commercial and residential mortgage-backed securities and unsecured REIT debt. Residential loans account for about 10% of its portfolio, with the rest spread out over retail, office, industrial, health-care and other property types.
• With a projected 18.68% yield, Resource Capital (RSO) invests in a combination of commercial real-estate-related assets and higher-yielding commercial-finance assets, such as syndicated bank loans and equipment leases. Residential mortgage-backed securities make up approximately half of its portfolio, although the company continues to diversify. Trading at around 11.75, Resource Capital was launched in 2005.
• GateHouse Media (GHS) appeared in this space June 25 on the occasion of its second dividend boost in 2007. The company is one of the largest publishers of locally based print and online media, serving more than 10 million readers across 20 states. Its chief revenue source is advertising. GateHouse's projected dividend yield in the Bear Stearns screen is 15.33%, and it changes hands at 12.60.
• At an anticipated yield of 15.22%, two-year-old Crystal River Capital (CRZ) invests in commercial and residential mortgage-backed securities, commercial real estate, real-estate loans and instruments, and other alternative assets, such as timber and power plants. Recent price: 17.32.
• Anthracite Capital (AHR), which is externally managed by a subsidiary of BlackRock, has a projected 12-month dividend yield of 14.84% and trades around 9.50. It primarily invests in high-yielding commercial real-estate debt and equity both in the U.S. and abroad.
On the New York Stock Exchange for 78 years, Curtiss-Wright (CW) is the corporate descendant of the Wright Brothers and aircraft designer Glenn Curtiss. Tuesday, the Roseland, N.J.-based company announced it would lift its quarterly common dividend 33%, to eight cents a share from six cents. Disbursement is slated for Oct. 26 to investors of record Oct. 12. The stock goes ex-dividend Oct. 10. Payouts have been ongoing since 1974.
Week's Dividend Payments: NYSE | Nasdaq | AMEX
Week's Ex-Dividend Payments: NYSE | Nasdaq | AMEXChief Executive Martin Benante commented that "Curtiss-Wright has achieved significant growth and operating performance over the last several years while maintaining a solid balance sheet." He added that the payout boost reflects confidence in the continuation of that trend. Curtiss-Wright set a 52-week high Thursday of 50.26. It yields a modest 0.65%.
The $1.5 billion company provides motion- and flow-control systems and metal treatment for the aerospace and defense industries, among others. Its order backlog at June 30 was $1.04 billion, up 19% from the Dec. 31 level. Over the last five years, sales have grown at a compound annual rate of 30%, while operating income has advanced at a 26% yearly rate.
ONE OF THE WORLD'S LARGEST publicly traded tanker concerns, Tsakos Energy Navigation (TNP) hiked its semiannual common dividend to $1.65 a share from $1.50. Holders of record Oct. 22 will receive the new payout Oct. 26, and the ex-date is Oct. 18. Trading on the Big Board at about 73, Tsakos yields 4.53%. The company distributes between a fourth and a half of ordinary net income annually; the final dividend for 2007 will be paid next April. Chairman D. John Stavropoulos said that Tsakos, which is based in Athens, Greece, remains focused on "growing our fleet and optimizing utilization to sustain a steady stream of revenue and a healthy return to our shareholders."
