According to DividendChannel.com, in trading on Monday, shares of Alaska Communications Systems Group Inc (ALSK) were yielding above the 11% mark based on its quarterly dividend (annualized to $0.86), with the stock changing hands as low as $7.73 on the day. Dividends are particularly important for investors to consider, because historically speaking dividends have provided a considerable share of the stock market's 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 11% would appear considerably attractive if that yield is sustainable. Alaska Communications Systems Group Inc (ALSK) is a member of the Russell 3000, giving it special status as one of the largest 3000 companies on the U.S. stock markets.
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