When COVID happened and governments shut down the economy for health reasons, people had to work from home which meant upgrades in security systems had to be made or should have been made. Who are the big players which your can money from?

Scott Clayton of TSI Network examined some companies using the following criteria:

TSI has a rating system which helps narrow the scope:

1 point for 5 years of continuous dividend payments, 2 points for greater than 5 years

2 points if the company has raised the dividend in the past 5 years

1 point for management’s commitment to dividends

1 point for operating in non-cyclical industries

1 point for limited exposure to foreign currency rates and freedom from political interference

2 points for a strong balance sheet, including manageable debt and adequate cash

2 points for a long term record of positive earnings and cash flow sufficient to cover dividend payments

1 point if the company is a leader in its industry

Companies with 10-12 have the most secure dividends; those with 7-9 have above average; 4-6 average sustainability and 1-3 below average.

Company Div Sustainability Points Div Mkt Cap 1 Yr Total Recent

Rating Yield % ($ Bil) Return % Price $

Cisco Systems Above Average 9 3.1 198.532 -18.8 46.90

Juniper Networks Average 5 3.3 7.999 -8.3 24.49

Norton LifeLock Average 5 2.4 11.745 44.0 20.70

ManTech Int’l Average 5 1.9 2.663 -1.2 66.38

Leidos Holdings Average 5 1.5 12.658 14.5 91.37

Linking to dividend paying stocks, a rating system such as the one TSI uses allows you to narrow the field of choices. What are you looking for? how much risk do you want? can you buy the stock and go away for a few months because you are more interested in the dividend as opposed to the capital gain? In the stock market there is never a perfect answer because that is against the law, however if your interest is in dividends and company can pay, then over the long term your wealth should increase.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.