While Most of Wall Street focuses on large and mega-cap stocks, as they provide a degree of safety and liquidity, many investors are limited in the number of shares they can buy. Many of the most significant public companies, especially the technology giants, trade over $1000 per share, while many are in the low to mid-hundreds. It’s hard to get decent share count leverage at those steep prices.

Many investors, especially more aggressive traders, look at lower-priced stocks to make good money and get a higher share count. That can help the decision-making process, especially when you are on to a winner, as you can always sell and keep half.

We screened our 24/7 Wall St. research database, looking for smaller-cap companies that could offer patient investors enormous returns for the rest of 2024 and beyond.

Five companies that hit our screens also pay huge dividends, making the total return potential even more intriguing.

AGNC Investment

This company has paid solid monthly dividends for years, and its current yield is 14.96%. AGNC Investment Corp. (NASDAQ: AGNC) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) in the United States.

The company invests in residential mortgage pass-through securities and collateralized mortgage obligations for which the principal and interest payments are guaranteed by the United States government-sponsored enterprise or by the United States government agency.

The company funds its investments primarily through collateralized borrowings structured as repurchase agreements. It has elected to be taxed as a REIT under the Internal Revenue Code 1986. However, it would not be subject to federal corporate income taxes if it distributes at least 90% of its taxable income to its stockholders.

FAT Brands

With a funny name and a rich 7.85% dividend, this stock makes sense for aggressive investors. FAT Brands Inc. (NASDAQ: FAT) is a multi-brand restaurant company that acquires, develops, markets, and manages quick service, fast casual, casual dining, and polished casual dining restaurant concepts worldwide.

It owns restaurant brands, including:

• Round Table Pizza
• Marble Slab Creamery
• Great American Cookies
• Hot Dog on a Stick
• Pretzelmaker
• Fazoli’s
• Fatburger
• Johnny Rockets
• Elevation Burger
• Yalla Mediterranean
• Buffalo’s Cafe and Buffalo’s Express
• Hurricane Grill & Wings
• Ponderosa Steakhouse / Bonanza Steakhouse
• Native Grill & Wings
• Twin Peaks

PetMed Express

Paying a massive 13.07% dividend, this stock could be a takeover candidate. PetMed Express, Inc. (NASDAQ: PETS) and its subsidiaries operate as a pet pharmacy in the United States.

The company markets prescription and non-prescription pet medications, health products, and other supplies for dogs, cats, and horses.

It offers:

• Non-prescription medications and supplies, such as flea and tick control products,
• Bone and joint care products,
• Vitamins,
• Treats,
• Nutritional supplements,
• Hygiene products, and supplies and
• Prescription medications, including heartworm preventatives, flea and tick preventatives,
• Arthritis, dermatitis, thyroid, diabetes, pain medications,
• Heart/blood pressure, other specialty medications, and generic substitutes.

The company also sells food, beds, crates, stairs, and other pet supplies.

Redwood Trust

With a 10.58% dividend and colossal upside, intelligent traders are potentially grabbing shares of Redwood Trust, Inc. (NYSE: RWT), a specialty finance company in the United States.

The company operates through three segments:

• Residential Mortgage Banking
• Business Purpose: Mortgage Banking
• Investment Portfolio

The Residential Mortgage Banking segment operates a mortgage loan conduit that acquires residential loans from third-party originators for subsequent sale, securitization, or transfer to its investment portfolio.

This segment also offers derivative financial instruments to manage risks associated with residential loans.

The Business-Purpose Mortgage Banking segment operates a platform that originates and acquires business-purpose loans, such as single-family rental and bridge loans, for subsequent securitization, sale, or transfers into its investment portfolio.

The Investment Portfolio segment invests in:

• Securities retained from residential and business purpose securitization activities
• Residential and small-balance multifamily bridge loans
• Residential mortgage-backed securities issued by third parties,
• Freddie Mac K-Series multifamily loan securitizations and reperforming loan securitizations
• Servicer advance investments,
• Home equity investments, and other housing-related investments

Vodafone Group

This company pays investors a huge 11.42% dividend and is in a sector that always has demand. Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ: VOD) provides telecommunication services in Europe and internationally.

It offers mobile connectivity services comprising:

• End-to-end services for mobile voice and data, messaging, device management, BYOx, and telecoms management
• Professional and consulting services
• Fixed line connectivity, such as fixed voice and data, broadband, software-defined networks, managed WAN, LAN, Ethernet, and satellite; and financial services, as well as business and merchant services

The company also provides:

• Consumer Internet of Things (IoT) propositions, as well as security and insurance products
• Mobile services
• Logistics, fleet management, and intelligent metering services
• WiFi; digital services comprising mobile application development
• Multi-access edge computing,
• Worker insights, AI assistant, drone detection, visual inspection, and mixed reality
• Vodafone Analytics platform and traditional IT hosting services, including colocation, managed hosting, security, hosting infrastructure, and flexible computing for the government

In addition, it offers integrated business communication services, fixed mobile convergence services, carrier services, and IoT devices comprising managed tablets and integrated terminals.

Further, it offers M-Pesa, an African mobile money platform that allows payments and provides financial services; Vodafone Business’ multi-cloud platform; and productivity solutions.

It also operates digital cloud-based television platforms.

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