Special Research Presentation

America’s Best Dividend Stock

By Dr. Mark Skousen


IN THIS REPORT:

  • Introduction
  • America’s Best Dividend Stock
  • Why This is a Dividend Paying Company Like No Other
  • Why This Company Makes Money in Any Market
  • Why You Should Consider Investing Right Now
  • About Dr. Mark Skousen

America’s Best Dividend Stock

Hi, Mark Skousen here.

A few things you should know about me up front…

I’m a Ph.D. economist… college professor… founder of the annual Freedom Fest conference… author of more than 25 books on investing and finance… and I’m the investment director behind a number of wildly successful trading services at Eagle Financial.

But here’s the thing I enjoy most…

It’s helping people – individual investors – build a lifetime of wealth, one year at a time.

I’ve been doing it for nearly four decades now. Safely and consistently.

And I have legions of followers who will gladly back me up on this. (It’s simple: my business simply doesn’t work… unless I’m helping my readers make money.)

Before you read my private research on my favorite dividend stock, though, it’s important that I mention one more thing…

I operate independently.

In other words, I don’t get paid to cover investments. I have no financial relationships with the companies I recommend.

So I’ve decided to share with you America’s Best Dividend Stock – from my award-winning investment portfolio.

This company has been the proverbial gift that keeps on giving, as you’re about learn.

So enjoy the report, and the gains you could soon be making as a result…

Kind regards,
Dr. Mark Skousen
Editor, Forecasts & Strategies

“America’s Top Dividend Stock”

“America’s Top Dividend Stock” — The top-performing dividend play in my Forecasts & Strategies portfolio… and why it’s now starting to get Wall Street’s attention.

The top-performing dividend play in my Forecasts & Strategies recommended portfolio is Main Street Capital Corp. (MAIN: $36/share, yield 7.2%).

Based in Houston, TX, MAIN is a $2.38 billion, well diversified, business development company (BDC) that makes equity investments – and loans money to – small- and mid-sized companies. Typically, these businesses are cash flow positive, with revenue between $10 million and $100 million.

The company typically holds around 70 companies in its portfolio at any one time. Geographically, 43% of its companies are located in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico and Arizona. Another 29% of the companies are in the West, including California.

Main Street is considered the “best of the breed” in the BDC world. Now, here’s why MAIN is starting to get Wall Street’s attention…

A number of analysts who cover MAIN consider it the “Best Dividend Stock in America,” because of its top management team, business model and rising dividend policy.

What makes Main Street the best is its ability to profit from equity positions in private businesses – which represents 30% of its portfolio. In the most recent quarter, dividends from these businesses made up nearly 25% of total investment income.

One of those businesses is HMS Income Fund, a lucrative asset manager, which collects fees roughly equal to 1% of its assets, plus 10% of its annual returns. The fund paid out $2.7 million in benefits to Main Street in the first quarter. Not bad! MAIN manages a lot of profitable business like this.

MAIN also benefits from its low-cost operating structure. In fact, my research shows that MAIN is the lowest-cost firm in the industry that also has a rising dividend policy.

Finally, Main Street benefits from higher oil prices, since the company is based in Houston and many of its investments are local and linked to the energy business.

I first recommended it to Forecasts & Strategies readers back in 2012. Since that time it’s given my readers a total return of 113%. That’s huge for a dividend stock.

But share price appreciation was only part of the reason we got into MAIN in the first place. The biggest reason, and why I call it “America’s Best Dividend Stock” is this…

14 Paydays for the Last 5 Years

Since 2013, investors have received 12 monthly dividends AND 2 bonus payments annually (thanks to company performance). And it doesn’t look like the bonuses will stop any time soon.

Main Street pays out a monthly dividend. When it comes to income, that’s a huge advantage. With monthly dividend checks, you know your money is coming – every single month, like clockwork.

With quarterly distributions, the share prices normally drops when dividends are paid. With monthly distributions, there’s less volatility, and normally a lower drop in share price.

Now consider MAIN’s rising dividend policy. As a business rule, its policy is to maintain the dividend yield, and never go lower. In addition, as the business gets stronger, the dividend rises.

In fact, since 2009, the regular monthly dividend has never dropped… having increased by more than 60%. That’s more than 100 dividend payouts, without a cut.

The stock currently yields 7.2%, but with its history of raising dividends, and with today’s stronger U.S. economy, it wouldn’t surprise me if the yield went as high as 9% by this time next year.

On top of its robust monthly dividend, MAIN has handed out two extra dividend checks for the last five years – usually in June and December.

These bonus distributions are based on MAIN’s business performance. When the company makes money, investors make more money.

When you combine MAIN’s remarkably strong monthly dividends, its 5-year string of bonus, performance-based distributions, and the company’s rising dividend policy… all powered by today’s strengthening U.S. economy…

MAIN will continue to rank as “America’s Best Dividend Stock” for years to come. Here’s why I am so sure…

MAIN Makes Money in Any Market

A Rock-Solid Bet on the USA: This company is helping power the U.S. economic boom, and growing stronger along the way… but that’s nothing new, as this company’s made money in every market.

The economy is firing on all cylinders. And that’s great news for MAIN investors right now. But if the company’s history has shown us anything, it’s that the overall market mood doesn’t matter…

For example, look at the 10-year stock chart…

In November of 2008, MAIN’s share price stood at $8. In May of 2009, it reached a new high of $14.74 a share. That’s a gain of nearly 75%…

During one of the worst economic periods the U.S. has ever faced.

And even during the darkest part of the market meltdown in 2008, even when shares initially took a small dive, MAIN never reduced its dividend. It still hasn’t.

So how does MAIN make money, even when the broader market’s getting whacked? Simple.

Due diligence. Even in the worst markets there are exceptional companies needing help. MAIN only partners with the best and brightest of America’s rising business stars. And that’s saying something… Because getting into a new company at ground zero can be an avenue to life-changing profits. Or a quick trip to the poor house.

So how do you pick out the best new companies to invest in? Truth is, you don’t — unless you’re just itching to bury yourself in research… or are dying to get into the world of venture capital. The smarter, safer way to invest in a new company is to let someone else do the hard work for you…

That’s what MAIN does. So its management team does all the hard work for you. They vet the businesses to invest in… they allocate the resources to help these companies grow… they pinpoint the hot markets, the hot sectors, and the hottest opportunities.

They do it better than anyone else I can think of. That’s why they can continue to pay out their hefty dividends, including bonus distributions, year after year, regardless of what the market’s doing.

That’s a strong case for MAIN. Now here’s why you need to act on this stock now…

Why You Need to Invest Right Now

Buy NOW!: This stock’s flown under the radar long enough. And Wall Street wants a taste now. Get in ahead of the “pros” and the herd and make a killing.

The biggest reason to invest in MAIN now is this:

Earnings are soaring!

In fact, when MAIN reported its most recent quarterly earnings, they blew away estimates with posted revenues of $59.9 million and adjusted earnings of 66 cents per share.

This prompted CEO Vince Foster to say this,

“We are pleased with our operating results… a quarter during which we significantly increased our total investment income over the same period in the prior year and generated record distributable net investment income per share, and generated a meaningful increase in our net asset value per share… “We also generated an increase in net assets from operations of 93 cents per share, which represented an annualized return on equity for the quarter in excess of 15%.”

The quarter was so profitable that MAIN has announced another increase in its monthly dividend to 19.5 cents per share. At current price levels, that makes its yield a very compelling 7.2%.

CEO Foster – along with almost everyone on the MAIN management team – wholeheartedly believes in the strength of their own company. How else can you explain why Main Street’s management team and directors own more than 15% of the company?

In fact, CEO Foster alone owns 1.5 million shares, or 4.5% of the total shares outstanding. He earns roughly $1.9 million each year in dividends – nearly 5x his salary. President Todd Reppert owns another 700,000 shares and sees about $886,000 in annual dividends – or about 4x his salary.

They aren’t the only ones in big… During a recent two-month buying spree, no less than 34 transactions were executed by 15 different insiders. They were all buys… and totaled 289,000 shares. At an average share price of $36 during that time, we’re talking about $10.4 million worth of stock.

That’s a lot of confidence from management. But if that’s still not enough to convince you to invest now, here’s one more reason…

Since Main Street is based in Houston, TX and has many local and linked investments in energy, it benefits from higher oil prices. With today’s at their current levels, that’s sweet music indeed for MAIN investors.

Add it all up…

Recent spectacular earnings reports, a rising dividend policy, 14 dividend checks over the last 15 years, a ton of insider support, and now a booming economy… and what do you have?

America’s Best Dividend Stock.

Sincerely,

Dr. Mark Skousen
Editor, Forecasts & Strategies

P.S. MAIN is currently trading at a discount, offering an attractive entry price for America’s Best Dividend Stock.

Biography

About Dr. Mark Skousen



Mark Skousen, Ph. D., is a professional economist, investment expert, university professor, and author of more than 25 books. He earned his Ph. D. in monetary economics at George Washington University in 1977. He has taught economics and finance at Columbia Business School, Columbia University, Grantham University, Barnard College, Mercy College, Rollins College, and is a Presidential Fellow at Chapman University. He also has been a consultant to IBM, Hutchinson Technology, and other Fortune 500 companies.

Since 1980, Skousen has been editor in chief of Forecasts & Strategies, a popular award-winning investment newsletter. He also is editor of four trading services, Skousen TNT Trader, Skousen Five Star Trader, Skousen High-Income Alert, and Skousen Fast Money Alert.

He is a former analyst for the Central Intelligence Agency, a columnist to Forbes magazine (1997-2001), and past president of the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) in New York. He has written articles for The Wall Street Journal, Liberty, Reason, Human Events, the Daily Caller, Christian Science Monitor, and The Journal of Economic Perspectives. He has appeared on ABC News, CNBC Power Lunch, CNN, Fox News, and C-SPAN Book TV. In 2008-09, he was a regular contributor to Larry Kudlow & Co. on CNBC.

His economic bestsellers include “Economics on Trial” (Irwin, 1991), “Puzzles and Paradoxes on Economics” (Edward Elgar, 1997), “The Making of Modern Economics” (M. E. Sharpe, 2001, 2009), “The Big Three in Economics” (M. E. Sharpe, 2007), “EconoPower” (Wiley, 2008), and “Economic Logic” (2000, 2010). In 2009, “The Making of Modern Economics” won the Choice Book Award for Outstanding Academic Title.

His financial bestsellers include “The Complete Guide to Financial Privacy” (Simon & Schuster, 1983), “High Finance on a Low Budget” (Bantam, 1981), co-authored with his wife Jo Ann, “Scrooge Investing” (Little Brown, 1995; McGraw Hill, 1999), and “Investing in One Lesson” (Regnery, 2007).

In honor of his work in economics, finance, and management, Grantham University renamed its business school “The Mark Skousen School of Business.”

Dr. Skousen has lived in eight nations, and has traveled and lectured throughout the United States and 70 countries. He grew up in Portland, Ore. He and his wife, Jo Ann, and five children have lived in Washington, D.C.; Nassau, the Bahamas; London, England; Orlando, Fla.; and New York.

Learn more about Dr. Mark Skousen’s newest recommendations here.