Updated on May 13th, 2026 by Felix Martinez
Business Development Companies — or BDCs, for short — allow investors to generate income with the potential for robust total returns while minimizing the tax paid at the corporate level.
Despite these advantages, investors generally avoid business development companies. This may be due to the tax implications of their distributions for their shareholders. But even with the added headache come tax time, BDCs can still be worthwhile for income investors.
Prospect Capital Corporation (PSEC) is one of the more attractive business development companies in the market today.
Prospect stands out from the crowd by paying monthly dividends, providing shareholders with a steady, predictable passive income stream that is highly appealing to income investors.
There are currently just 119 monthly dividend stocks. You can download our full Excel spreadsheet of all monthly dividend stocks (along with metrics that matter, like dividend yield and payout ratio) by clicking on the link below:
Prospect Capital’s dividend yield is over 17.8%, more than ten times that of the average S&P 500 Index. Our full list of stocks with 5%+ dividend yields is here.
Prospect’s high dividend yield and monthly dividend payments are two reasons the company merits further research. This article will discuss the investment prospects of Prospect Capital Corporation in detail.
Business Overview
Prospect Capital Corporation is a Business Development Company founded in 2004. It is one of the largest, with a market cap of almost $1.1 billion.
Prospect Capital is a leading provider of private equity and private debt financing for middle-market companies, broadly defined as a company with between 100 and 2,000 employees.
Prospect Capital benefits from operating in the middle market because it lacks competition from larger, more established lenders.
Source: Investor Presentation
Middle-market companies are generally too small to be customers of commercial banks but too large to be served by the small-business representatives at retail banks. Prospect Capital does business in the “sweet spot” between these two services. This lack of competition in this sector has allowed Prospect Capital to finance some truly attractive deals.
Investors should note that Prospect Capital is highly exposed to interest-rate volatility. This is because the company’s liabilities are nearly all fixed-rate, while its investments are nearly all floating-rate instruments. That means interest expense is largely fixed, while interest income rises and falls commensurately with prevailing interest rates.
As interest rates rise, the revenues from Prospects’ floating-rate interest-bearing assets will increase. At the same time, Prospect’s interest expense will remain constant, as most of its debt is fixed-rate. Of course, the opposite is true, as falling rates generally mean declining interest income.
This makes Prospect Capital a great portfolio hedge against interest-sensitive securities like REITs and utilities, but it underperforms when rates are very low or declining.
Prospect Capital’s flexible origination mix is also a meaningful positive from an investor’s perspective, as the wide variety of instruments it uses to generate income helps it identify the best opportunities.
The company has many different ways to invest in target companies, including different types of debt and equity. They all have different risk levels and rates of return.
Prospect Capital’s willingness to seek out the best instruments — and having the scale to do so — is a major advantage over other middle-market BDCs. The company’s investment strategy is central to its long-term growth.
Growth Prospects
Prospect Capital’s growth prospects stem largely from the company’s ability to:
- Raise new capital via debt or equity offerings
- Invest this new capital in deal originations with an internal rate of return higher than the cost of capital raised in Step 1
Prospect’s ability to source new deals that offer appropriate risk-adjusted returns is the most important part of this process.
Fortunately for the company (and its investors), there is no shortage of new deals for Prospect’s consideration. The company has thousands of deal opportunities each year, allowing it to be very selective in its investment decision-making.
Dividend Analysis
Prospect Capital’s dividend is the primary reason investors would choose to own the stock, so it is critical that it be as safe as possible. As a BDC, Prospect Capital has no choice but to distribute all of its taxable income essentially to shareholders. Because of this, its payout ratio will always be very high and sometimes variable.
In other words, the dividend is actually covered by net investment income and has been for some time, meaning the payout should be relatively safe, barring a sizable impact from any potential economic downturn.
The company has declared cumulative distributions to shareholders since its IPO.
Clearly, the draw for Prospect Capital is in its ability to generate cash to return to shareholders, and over time, it has done that well.
The dividend appears safe for now, but investors should continue to monitor the company’s net investment income for any signs of trouble that could lead to further cuts down the road.
Related: 3 Reasons Why Companies Cut Their Dividends (With Examples)
Final Thoughts
Prospect Capital’s high dividend yield and monthly distributions are two of the main reasons an investor might be interested in this stock.
Taking a closer look reveals that this BDC has a high-caliber leadership team and has positioned itself to thrive in most environments.
However, the dividend appears to be on shaky financial ground, meaning Prospect is only worth a look for investors seeking high current income and monthly payments, plus stomach the inherent risks of owning a BDC.
Don’t miss the resources below for more monthly dividend stock investing research.
- 20 Highest Yielding Monthly Dividend Stocks
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- 10 Safest Monthly Dividend Stocks
And see the resources below for more compelling investment ideas for dividend growth stocks and/or high-yield investment securities.
- Dividend Kings: 50+ years of rising dividends
- Dividend Champions: 25+ years of rising dividends
- Dividend Aristocrats: 25+ years of rising dividends and in the S&P 500
- Dividend Achievers: 10+ years of rising dividends and in the NASDAQ
- Blue Chip Stock: Kings, Aristocrats, and Achievers
- MLPs: List of MLPs and more
- REITs: List of REITs and more
- BDCs: List of BDCs and more