Out Fox The $treet

Just about every company paying a dividend yield has had extremely strong stock gains over the last year. Main Street Capital Corporation (MAIN) has been no exception to this rule. Though the company continues to raise the dividend, the current yield has dropped to 6%. The company is a principal investment firm that primarily provides long-term debt and equity capital to lower middle market companies and debt capital to middle market companies. Now that the company has gained 69% over the last year, the question remains whether investing in a BDC that only pays a 6% dividend is worth it. The company has a primary focus in the lower middle market that has a favorable investment opportunity as fewer lenders have competitive offerings for this sector after the financial crisis. Read the full article at Seeking Alpha. Disclosure: No positions mentioned. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

With high yield in vogue these days, Ares Capital (ARCC) is worth a look even after a big gain this year. Back in August at the time of the Q2 earnings release, the company announced an increased dividend to $0.38 plus a bonus dividend of $0.05. Counting only the normal dividend, the stock currently yields 8.7%. The company is a business development company (BDC) that operates as a leading specialty finance company that provides one-stop financing solutions to U.S. middle market companies and private equity sponsors. The company originates and invests in senior secured loans, mezzanine debt and, to a lesser extent, equity investments through its national direct origination platform. Ares Capital competes against companies like American Capital, Ltd (ACAS) , KKR Financial Holdings LLC (KFN) , and Main Street Capital Corp. (MAIN) . All of these stocks have had huge gains in the last year, yet all but American Capital provide still compelling dividends. Read the full article at Seekin...