Nine High Yielding Stocks Under $5 a Share

Many investors think that the perfect stock is one that sells for a low price and pays a high yield. It may be hard to believe but there are actually several stocks, including closed-end funds or CEF's, that sell for less than $5 a share and pay a dividend, with five of the stocks with yields in excess of 6%.

All of the following stocks pay quarterly unless otherwise specified. Also, all of the following have market caps above $265 million. Just remember that the yields are based on historical payments, and the dividends can be adjusted or terminated at any time.

 

Zweig Fund (ZF) is a CEF with an objective of capital appreciation primarily through investment in equity securities. The stock has a P/E of 12, and a yield of 10.4%.

Zweig Total Return Fund (ZTR) is a CEF with an objective of capital appreciation and current income, with equity investments in technology, energy, industrials, consumer staples, and financials. The stock has a P/E of 13, and  a yield of 10.3%.

Dreyfus High Yield Strategies Fund (DHF) is a CEF which invests in fixed-income securities which are generally below investment grade credit quality. The stock has a P/E of 12, and a yield of 9.1%.

Qwest Communications International (Q) is a provider of wireline and wireless voice, data, Internet, and video services. The stock has a P/E of 3, a PEG of 4.66 and a yield of 6.8%.

Colonial Bancgroup Inc (CNB) is a commercial bank holding company which serves Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Nevada and Texas. The stock has a P/E of 5 , a PEG of 1.21 and a yield of 6.4 %.

United Microelectronics Corp (UMC) is a Taiwan-based semiconductor manufacturer. It pays dividends annually. The stock has a P/E of 19, a PEG of 1.8 and a yield of 3.2%.

Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd. (MTE) is an India based provider of fixed line telecommunications services in Delhi and Mumbai. It pays dividends semi-annually. The stock has a P/E of 6 , a PEG of 5.01 and a yield of 5.6%.

Quest Capital Corp (QCC) is a Canadian real estate mortgage financing company. It recently announced a dividend of $0.045 per share which is an 80% increase over the previous dividend. The stock has a P/E of 13 and a yield of 5.1%.

UCBH Holdings Inc. (UCBH) is a San Francisco bank holding company which owns United Commercial Bank. The stock has a P/E of 5 , a PEG of 0.67 and a yield of 3.7%.

Transportadora de Gas Del Sur S.A. (TGS) is an Argentina-based transporter and marketer of natural gas. The stock has a P/E of 12 and a yield of 0.9%.

 

 Disclosure: The author does not own any of the above.

Comments

[Itsonlymoney:]

I continue to be amazed that "investors" equate a low dollar amount with low price. This looks like a list of stocks worth investigating further but lets not conclude that these are cheap just because the price is low.

2008 Jun 10 09:48 AM

[Genesisgkh:]

And you usually get a stock which has fallen 25%-50% or more in value. Interestingly, you never see an article pushing "stocks over 100". And these would likely be better as youre usually getting a company which has increased shareholder value over time.

2008 Jun 10 10:26 AM

[bryanz:]

Why is a stock with a 0.9% yield considered "high yield"?

2008 Jun 10 04:11 PM

[jimsep:]

The ZWEIG funds pay out 10%, but part of it, maybe a big part is return of capital, in other words just giving you your money back.

Calling that a yield is stretching it

2008 Jun 10 05:28 PM

[carlivar:]

Qwest sticks out to me here. I'm convinced they'll be bought by T or VZ. In the meantime, huge dividends.

2008 Jul 16 12:23 PM

[7om:]

lets think
other layers where those stocks co-exist...
ecosystem will remain uncertain...
few dividends will remain useful in stochastic times

2008 Jul 26 09:50 PM