Evening star., 1930-06-21
MANY ISSUES SHOW
BIG INCOME YIELD
Common Stocks Have De-
Clined to Point Where
Returns Are Large.

NEW YORK, June 21.-A score of
common stocks, the permanency of
whose dividends is undisputed now
snow an average income return today
of about 5l2 per cent. This compares
with yield of a little over per cent
for the same shares when the market
was at its high level in April.
The return on an even larger group
of stocks, about which there has been
no question of ability to continue pay
ments at the existing rates, has gone
up relatively more. There are, in addi-
ton, many issues that are selling at
returns based on possible dividend re-
ductions that exceed their yields, meas
ured by dividends paid when their quo
tations figured in the high average price
of all stocks three months ago.
Yields in Boom Days.
At the height of the market boom
last September the average yield from
dividends on group of 80 industrials.
rails and public utilities was we'll below
3 per cent. The smallest average re-
turn was that of the public utilities,
which was less than 134 per cent. This
included a number of popular issues
that had been advanced from 40 to 60
times earnings without producing a
great deal in the way of cash return
to their shareholders. Some paid and
2 per cent, others nothing. The dis
crepancy between price and return
which has continued into this year, has
been one of the causes of the recent
heavy defation in market values of
power and light issues.
After the break in November, the
same stocks that were yielding less than
3 per cent could have been bought to
return better than Az per cent. This
change, to the advantage of the indi-
vidual who is interested in securities
primarily for their yield, Influenced
heavy investment buying and the with
drawal from the market in the next
few months of the largest amount of
stocks ever recorded in Wall Street
history for a similar period.
The situation today, with respect the
income yield on high-grade stocks and
on those that belong in the category
of Second-rate issues, is not unlike
that of last November. The rapid de-
cline in prices of stocks with an un-
broken dividend record for years has
brought them back to where the in
vestor is willing to buy them. after
showing a strong prejudice against
them when they were at their previous
low income levels This is always one
of the most certain signs of an ap-
preaching change in the course of a
market that has been declining over a
long period.
Interest Payments.
The July l dividend and interest
payments are expected TO show a total
nearly as large as that of year ago,
for to date dividends have been in
creased or initial dividends paid in
greater numbers than dividends re-
duced or omitted. The record in the
next quarter may not be so good for
then the effect of nearly a year of
business reaction will be more positive
Quite a few of the established
and widely-held dividend-paying stocks
have improved their yield in the last
three months more than the average
yield increase. In fact. a conspicuous
feature of the recent decline has been
its violence in the So-called investment
class of shares. Among these there are
a large number that today could be
purchased between a per cent and 6
per cent basis, and in exceptional cases
they return between and per cent
And this at time when 1t is difficult
to lend call money at 2l2 per cent, and
loans running for go to 90 days are
quoted around 3 per cent, and to the
end of this year at "a per cent.
Copyright, l930.)