According to Dividend Channel, in trading on Tuesday, shares of CapLease Inc (LSE) were yielding above the 6% mark based on its quarterly dividend (annualized to $0.26), with the stock changing hands as low as $4.24 on the day. Dividends are particularly important for investors to consider, because historically speaking dividends have provided a considerable share of the stock markets total return. To illustrate, suppose for example you purchased shares of the iShares Russell 3000 ETF (IWV) back on 5/31/2000 — you would have paid $78.27 per share. Fast forward to 5/31/2011 and each share was worth $80.78 on that date, a mere $2.51 or 3.2% increase over eleven years. But now consider that you collected a whopping $9.69 per share in dividends over the same period, increasing your return to 20.27%. Even with dividends reinvested, that only amounts to an average annual total return of about 1.7%; so by comparison collecting a yield above 6% would appear considerably attractive if that yield is sustainable. CapLease Inc (LSE) is a member of the Russell 3000, giving it special status as one of the largest 3000 companies on the U.S. stock markets.

In general, dividend amounts are not always predictable and tend to follow the ups and downs of profitability at each company. In the case of CapLease Inc, looking at the history chart for LSE below can help in judging whether the most recent dividend is likely to continue, and in turn whether it is a reasonable expectation to expect a 6% annual yield.

06/28/11 0.065 03/29/11 0.065 12/29/10 0.065 09/28/10 0.060 06/28/10 0.060 03/29/10 0.060 12/29/09 0.060 09/28/09 0.050 06/26/09 0.050 03/27/09 0.050 09/26/08 0.200 06/26/08 0.200 03/27/08 0.200 12/27/07 0.200 09/26/07 0.200 06/27/07 0.200 03/28/07 0.200 12/27/06 0.200 09/27/06 0.200 06/28/06 0.200 03/29/06 0.200 12/28/05 0.200 09/28/05 0.180 06/28/05 0.180 03/29/05 0.180 12/29/04 0.150 09/28/04 0.100 * Data may be adjusted for splits; we are not responsible for data errors; always verify data with the company.

LSE operates in the REITs sector, among companies like AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (AVB) which is off about 0.1% today, and Annaly Capital Management Inc (NLY) trading higher by about 0.2%. Below is a three month price history chart comparing the stock performance of LSE, versus AVB and NLY.

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