On 2/3/12, I purchased 100 shares of PGF in each of 3 IRA accounts at $17.53 and $17.54.  I combined these shares with existing shares held in these accounts, which resulted in a reduction of my basis for each lot.  I now own 1100 shares of PGF in 4 IRA accounts with an average basis for each account as follows: $17.78, $17.85, $18.06 and $17.78.

At the last dividend payout, PGF is yielding me over 6.5% with its monthly dividends.  The monthly dividends are one reason that I like this ETF as they provide some small measure of leveling my monthly dividend income.

I like to sell Covered Calls on the stocks that I own.  In fact, having options available is a criterion for me to consider any stock.  Unfortunately, the options on PGF do not provide a very great return even though I have been able to sell both Puts and Covered Calls in the past.  Currently, I do not have any Covered Calls sold on my PGF shares.  I will probably sell some Calls when I can get a price for the $19 strike.  In the meantime, I will be happy with the dividend income from PGF.

PGF first came to my attention reading Jim Cramer’s latest book, “Getting Back to Even”.  It is one of the few stocks he recommended in the book.  Jim continues to make references to this book on his show as a road map to help survive the current market conditions.  I recommend the book to anybody that is interested in owning individual stock.

Many of the stocks that I own and write Covered Calls upon also pay dividends.  Dividends occur on a regular basis and add significantly to my annual investment income.  Year to date I have received a total of $1,096.51 in dividends in my various accounts for 2012.  My year to date average monthly dividends received is currently $1,096.51.  The year-to-date dividends currently represent about 27.41% of my average monthly investment cash flow and about 2.98% return on my current basis value.

My YTD dividends are up by $308.60 on a monthly average from last year.  That represents a 39.17% increase to date year over year.  I attribute the increased dividends to a few companies raising their dividends and to my purchasing additional dividend paying stocks.  During January, I received notice of the following dividends paid in various accounts for a total of $1.096.51.

Please notice that PGF is an ETF and pays dividends monthly.  The annualized dividend yield for PGF is based upon the simple and false assumption that it will pay the same dividend each month for the next 12 months.  The actual annualized dividend yield may be more or less than illustrated here.

ANH, MFA and NLY are mortgage REITs that make their money on interest rate spreads.  Their current high annualized dividend yields on my basis are probably at risk when the Fed begins to raise its discount rates.  As of this writing, my current basis, excluding dividends, for some of these stocks is now below their current market price, which increases my yield on those stocks.  From time to time, I attempt to sell Covered Calls on these stocks to reduce my basis, which, to some extent, will help mitigate any possible future reduction in their dividend payouts.  I find myself just holding some of these stocks while I wait for their price to rise to a point that I am comfortable selling new Covered Calls.  If I do not sell new Covered Calls I am content to capture the nice dividend for an indefinite period.  Notably, PGF, NLY, ANH and MFA fall into this category.

I use my basis per share to determine the simple and annualized percentage return because I feel that it gives me a better representation of the value of the dividends as they relate to my portfolio.  My basis may be above or below the market price which causes my return to be lower or higher than published yields for a stock.  I calculate my basis per share as my acquisition price less any option premiums received on those shares.  I do not use dividends to reduce my basis.

Many of the stocks that I own and write Covered Calls upon also pay dividends.  Dividends occur on a regular basis and add significantly to my annual investment income.  Year to date I have received a total of $9.454.95 in dividends in my various accounts for 2011.  My year to date average monthly dividends received is currently $787.91.  The year-to-date dividends currently represent about 28.59% of my average monthly investment cash flow and about 2.14% return on my current basis value.

My YTD dividends are up by $183.64 on a monthly average from last year.  That represents a 30.39% increase to date year over year.  I attribute the increased dividends to a few companies raising their dividends and to my purchasing additional dividend paying stocks.  During October, I received notice of the following dividends paid in various accounts for a total of $832.89.

Please notice that PGF is an ETF and pays dividends monthly.  The annualized dividend yield for PGF is based upon the simple and false assumption that it will pay the same dividend each month for the next 12 months.  The actual annualized dividend yield may be more or less than illustrated here.

The DCIX shares are ones I received as a split off from Diana Shipping (DSX).  I had thought about just selling them but there are so few and the trading cost would chew up so much relative to what I would receive that I decided to keep them, at least for now, and collect the little dividends that they throw off.

I use my basis per share to determine the simple and annualized percentage return because I feel that it gives me a better representation of the value of the dividends as they relate to my portfolio.  My basis may be above or below the market price which causes my return to be lower or higher than published yields for a stock.  I calculate my basis per share as my acquisition price less any option premiums received on those shares.  I do not use dividends to reduce my basis.