What we state generically as a Lender is someone or an entity who lends you the money for whatever you want to purchase with it. A finer consideration would be Bank, Lending Company or Loan Broker. But there are differences between them and we will try to point out advantages and disadvantages of each one.

A Bank Is A Bank

Well, we all know what a bank is and how to spot one as we walk in the street. A lending company might be anybody who does not fit in the bank category, but has money to lend. The loan brokers are the most varied of the lot, as we shall see and have a unique feature. Mind you, there are good guys and bad guys everywhere, so that will certainly NOT be the subject. Each kind of lender has its pros and cons.

In the case of a bank, there is a notorious difference in backup. There is a financial power behind the bank that makes it the first option when we need a loan. Definitely it is the most reliable of the lot, on average, of course, since they have a good name to care for. But the bank has a rather limited range of loans. Maybe they might say, We are sorry, but we do not do car loans, or currently we are concentrating only on mortgage loans, or whatever, but they are not so ample.

Given the 30%-plus rise in the S&P 500 since March 9th, 2009, is it still possible for income investors to find high dividend stocks whose prices haven't gotten ahead of themselves?

On a recent bottom fishing expedition, I screened for 3 preliminary parameters:

1. High Dividend Yield - Above 5 % (The S&P 500 average dividend yield is approximately 3.42%).

2. Moderate Dividend Payout Ratio - Below 50 % (The S&P's payout ratio is approximately 59 %).

3. Less Than 40 % Above 52-Week Low

4. Options Available

This preliminary screen yielded several companies, from 4 different sectors: Consumer Goods, Industrials, Basic Materials, and Financials.