Saturday, May 08, 2010

Top Yielding Telecom Stocks


The extreme market volatility recently has created a flight to safety, not just cash but high income stocks. Investors appreciate the yields on utility stocks and telecommunications stocks.

Yes, land lines are decreasing, cell phone usage is increasing, and more and more households are now using cell phones as their primary if not their only phone. The phone companies aren't standing still; they are pushing plenty of other services besides the usual telecommunications. Plus, the negative news has already been built into the price of these stocks, and then some.

This drop in stock prices has caused the yields to go up, creating some interesting income opportunities. WallStreetNewsNetwork.com has turned up a dozen of these stocks yielding more than 5%.

Alaska Communications Systems Group, Inc. (ALSK) is a provider of both wireless and landlines in the state of Alaska. The company has a market cap of $340 million and pays a yield of 11.0%. The operating cash flow of $85.6 million significantly covers the dividend payout of $38.3 million.

As an example, Iowa Telecommunications Services (IWA), which serves customers in rural Iowa, Minnesota, and Missouri, pays an outstanding yield of 910%. The company's operating cash flow of $89 million is more than enough to cover its $53 million in dividend payouts. The market cap is $535 million.

Another high paying telecom stock is Centurytel, Inc. (CTL), with a 8.7% payout. This Louisiana based company pays $833 million in dividends, easily covered by the $1.57 billion in operating cash flow. The market cap is $9.9 billion.

To see the rest of the high paying telecommunications companies, check out the free Excel database of high yield telecom stocks, including six that yield over 8%, at wsnn.com.

Author does not own any of the above.

By Stockerblog.com

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