| The Yield Hunter |
| 11/24/2008 |
| Let's make some money and sleep well at night |
| Hickory Tech Corp Common Stock (Yahoo Ticker: HTCO ) Average Volume 27,800 Shares per day Current Price $5.39 Annualized Dividend $.52 Yield as of 11/9/2008 - 9.6% Payment Dates - Mar, June, Sept, Dec |
| General Economic Assumptions The general economic assumptions used in our decision to highlight this Common Stock at this time are as follows-- Economic weakness for the 3rd and 4th quarter of 2008, continuing through the 1st and 2nd quarter. Minor improvement starting in the 3rd quarter of 2009. Credit markets will slowly continue to improve. Substantial deviation from the above assumptions would change the outlook for the issue. |
| Investor Profile This security is most appropriate for very diversified income investors. We believe this security should compose no more than 3% of a portfolio. This security is most appropriate for investors looking for good returns with a chance of some modest capital gains in the year ahead. We believe that this security should be bought on an 'average in' basis--2 or 3 purchases. |
| Target Investment Results Our target for the next 12 months is a capital gain of 10% with a current yield of 9.6%--a total of 19.6% |
| Investment Discussion Hickory Tech is a smallish telecommunications company(Rev--150 million) located in Mankato MN. Originally this company was the Mankato Citizens Telephone--back when all they did was land line telephones. Of course all of these small local telephone companies have had to evolve substantially over the last 10-20 years as the technology revolution has somewhat destroyed the land line business--only to be replaced by cell phones and the internet. Hickory Tech now has generates their revenue from long distance telephone charges, data services, Digital TV, DSL lines and billing services. In 2005 Hickory Tech purchased Enventis which sells data products from third party manufacturers and provides various data services and maintenance to companies throughout the area. Not unusually the original telecom business is slowly going away and the Enventis sector is growing at a nice clip. Not unlike virtually all stocks HTCO has traded down as low as $4.75 from a 52 week high near $10, but we believe the current price looks attractive, although we will personally 'average in' our purchases. As an added kicker HTCO has purchased back 3-4% of their stock in the last couple months. Research Items Below Stock Purchase Announcement 11/21/2008 10Q for Quarter End 9/30/2008 This is not a recommendation to purchase any shares, but is meant to stimulate thought and further research. The publishers are not investment advisors and all investments an individual makes should be weighed carefully for there suitability for investments goals. All information published by The Yield Hunter is believed to be correct--but it can not be quaranteed. This security is thinly traded and limit orders are always recommended DISCLOSURE-- as of this date the publisher is not an owner of this security, but intends to purchase it in the near future |
| NOTE--PAGE LOADS SLOWLY |
| Stock Purchase Press Release 11/21/2008 |
| 10Q Report for Quarter End September 30, 2008 |