2020 will mark the 12 years of economic expansion – an unprecedented run for the US economy. While investors are enjoying the good times, they are starting to wonder – will it end? And when? Cautious investors are also starting to fortify their portfolios, setting up income streams that can survive a downturn. Better to do this now, while there is time to research the market and do it right.
Finding the right investments to protect your income stream will naturally draw you to dividend stocks. Dividends are income-sharing payments, used by companies to return profits to stakeholders. The markets’ true dividend champs are the companies that make reliable payments, regularly raise those payments, and offer a yield (the payment as a percentage of the share price) that far exceeds bond returns.
TipRanks, an investing platform that collects and collates the data on Wall Street’s top analysts, along with more than 6,400 publicly traded equities, offers the tools to find the best dividend stocks. The Stock Screener tool has a set of filters that can fine-tune your market search to bring up just the investments that fit the profile you want.
Setting those filters to show stocks with a Buy rating consensus from the analysts, along with a dividend yield over 7%, brings up three stocks that may be of interest.
We’ll start in the oil industry, where high dividends are particularly common. Rattler was formed in July 2018 as a limited partnership with Diamondback Energy. In effect, Diamondback spun off its midstream operations to a new company, in the interest of efficiency. Rattler now owns, develops, operates, and acquires midstream assets in the Midland and Delaware formations of Texas’ Permian Basin. Midstream assets are the supporting infrastructure of the oil and gas industry; Rattler provides these services under contract to the parent company.
While it formed in the summer of 2018, Rattler did not go public until May of 2019. In its IPO, Rattler offered 33.3 million shares at $17.50; the offering sold 38 million shares, and saw the price rise to $18.80 in one day. In all, the company raised $665 million through the public offering. In its two reported quarters so far, RTLR has missed the EPS forecast both time – but has also seen earnings rise from 11 cents per share to 26 cents.
Of more interest here is the dividend. In November, RTLR started paying back to investors. The initial dividend payment was 34 cents per share, which annualizes to $1.34. The yield, however, is a more impressive 7.7%. Among S&P listed companies, the average yield is only 2%; Rattler made its dividend debut paying out well over triple that.
Reviewing RTLR shares for Northland Securities, analyst Jeff Grampp wrote, “With the stock now yielding [7.7%] and set to grow Adjusted EBITDA near 50% in 2020 with 15% lower y-o-y organic CapEx, we think the company presents an attractive investment proposition.” The analyst added, "We note the 2020 guide implies near 50% y-o-y Adjusted EBITDA growth at the midpoint while organic CapEx decreases ~15% y-o-y. We believe this should support robust dividend growth in 2020 and beyond."
Along with his Buy rating on the stock Grampp set a $24 price target, indicating room for 39% upside growth in the coming year. (To watch Grampp’s track record, click here)
Rattler Midstream currently holds a Moderate Buy from the analyst consensus rating, based 8 recent ratings, including 5 Buys and 3 Holds. Shares sell for $17.08, giving the stock a moderate cost of entry, and the average price target of $20.75 suggests a robust upside potential of 21%. (See Rattler stock analysis at TipRanks)
Turning from energy to finance we find Capital Southwest, an investment company. CSWC focuses on high-appreciation opportunities, mainly through management, buyouts, recaps, early stage financings, and consolidations. The company operates in the United States.
In November, CSWC reported fiscal Q2 2020 earnings, and the results were somewhat disappointing. EPS, at 38 cents, missed the 43-cent forecast. Share values dropped 7% after the release. On second thoughts, however, investors noted that the company also released several positive notes: the same EPS that missed the estimates was up significantly year-over-year, and revenues, at $15.22 million, were up 21% from the year before. By the end of November, the share price had regained most of its losses.
A sweetener for investors, that helps keep them interested in CSWC, is the company’s high-yield dividend. The regular quarterly payment is 40 cents, and the company has been steadily increasing that since 2013. Even better, CSWC also pays out occasional special dividends, with the most recent one, of 75 cents, having gone out this past December. Using the regular payment, the annual dividend is $1.60, and the yield is 7.7%.
Two 4-star analysts have reviewed CSWC recently. Writing for Jefferies, Kyle Joseph said, “F3Q seems to be off to a strong start as the company disclosed $33M of new commitments subsequent to the quarter end - above levels seen in F2Q. We remind investors that $184M of incremental capacity on the company's credit facility remains and CSWC continues to pay out a supplemental dividend.” Joseph’s Buy rating on CSWC is backed up by a $24 price target, implying a 16% upside. (To watch Joseph’s track record, click here)
Bryce Rowe, from National Securities, is also bullish on the stock, citing the company’s ability to offer strong returns, particularly from dividends: “Over the next year, we project CSWC should deliver a total return of 19% with 60%+ of that projected return coming from regular, supplemental, and special dividends.” Rowe’s $23 price target supports his Buy ratings, and shows his confidence in 11% upside potential for the stock. (To watch Rowe’s track record, click here)
Overall, Capital Southwest has a Strong Buy consensus rating, based on 4 Buys and just 1 Hold. Shares sell for $20.65, and the average price target of $23.20 indicates that the stock has room for a 12% upside. (See Capital Southwest stock analysis at TipRanks)
For the last stock on our list, we’ll stick with the finance sector. TPG is a lending company, providing financing for middle market companies across a range of industries. Most of TPG’s customers have limited access to other sources of capital.
However it chooses customers, TPG has found a winning formula. The stock rose 27% last year, and in Q3 2019, the most recent reported, it beat both the estimates and the year-ago values. On the top line, revenues came in at $70.05 million, 8% over the forecast and up 11% year-over-year. EPS was 55 cents, 14% better than expected and 10% up yoy. In short, TSLX is a stock on the way up.
The 39-cent regular dividend, reliably paid out for the last three years, adds a bit of luster to the shares. Annualized at $1.56, the yield is a robust 7.16%. Two other factors make the dividend even more attractive – first, TSLX pays out special dividends periodically; and second, the payout ratio, a measure of the dividend compared to earnings, is 71%, indicating that the company returns a large part of profits to shareholders, but can easily afford the payments.
Kenneth Lee, 4-star analyst from RBC Capital, was impressed enough with this stock to initiate coverage with a Buy rating in his recent review. He wrote, “We think TSLX's ability to leverage platform resources of TSSP is a potential competitive advantage and note TSLX has above-peer-average ROE generation potential.”
Lee’s rating is supported by a $23 price target, implying an upside of 5.5%. (To watch Lee’s track record, click here)
Weighing in from SunTrust Robinson, 5-star analyst Mark Hughes, agrees that TSLX is a stock to Buy. He specifically sees potential in the company’s portfolio yield, writing, “We believe the yield forecast in particular has the potential for upside, due to the embedded call protection that is packaged in almost every loan (85% of debt investments), and it’s not fully reflected in our estimates due to their unpredictable timing.”
Like Lee, Hughes backs his Buy rating with a $23 price target. (To watch Hughes’ track record, click here)
The Strong Buy consensus rating on TSLX is unanimous; 4 analysts have given a thumbs-up to the stock recently. Shares a moderately priced, at $21.80, and the average price target, $22.63, shows a modest upside of 3.8%. This is a stock whose dividend and overall appreciation outweigh the current growth potential. (See TPG Specialty Lending’s stock analysis at TipRanks)
