Stock · Financial Services
PSEC Prospect Capital Corporation
Prospect Capital Corporation carries multiple risk signals — review carefully before relying on the dividend.
Why we rate it 1.9
- Very high yield of 28.09% — often signals stress or a structural pay-out (covered call ETFs, mREITs, etc.)
- Payout ratio of 867% — dividend exceeds reported earnings, sustainability questionable without growth
- Current yield is much higher than the 5-year average of 13.04% — usually means price has fallen sharply
- Small-cap scale — dividend stability less assured during downturns
Where PSEC ranks
We compute the same 0–10 safety score across 53 dividend-paying stocks and ETFs. Here's where PSEC lands inside that universe.
The universe is curated to the most-searched US dividend payers. We'll expand it as the data layer grows; sector percentiles only appear when we have at least 5 comparable peers.
The two questions a safety score doesn't answer
A safety score tells you how durable PSEC's payout looks. It does not tell you what you keep after tax, or whether something else does the same job better.
On tax: what you actually pocket depends on whether PSEC dividends are qualified — qualified distributions are taxed at 0%, 15%, or 20%, while ordinary ones are taxed at your full marginal rate, a gap that can reach 22 percentage points of the income on the same headline yield.
On substitutes: if PSEC's 1.9/10 score is lower than you want, see PSEC alternatives — same-sector stocks ranked by how closely they match PSEC on both yield and safety, so you can see what a swap actually costs you.
How PSEC's safety score has moved
57 daily snapshots over the trailing 58 days · range 1.9–2.6
Every Infnits dividend safety score is computed from the same factors (yield zone, payout ratio, trend vs 5-year average, instrument type, size). The history above is recomputed directly from each day's fundamentals snapshot, so the line reflects how the underlying signals actually moved — not retroactive smoothing.
About Prospect Capital Corporation
Prospect Capital Corporation is a Private Equity, Private Debt and business development company. It specializes in middle market, lower-middle market, mature, mezzanine finance, later stage, emerging growth, leveraged buyouts, refinancing, acquisitions, recapitalizations, turnaround, growth capital, development, capital expenditures and subordinated debt tranches of collateralized loan obligations, cash flow term loans, market place lending and bridge transactions. It also makes real estate investments particularly in multi-family residential real estate asset class. The fund makes secured debt, senior debt, senior and secured term loans, unitranche debt, first-lien and second lien, private debt, private equity, mezzanine debt, and equity investments in private and microcap public businesses. It focuses on both primary origination and secondary loans/portfolios and invests in situations like debt financings for private equity sponsors, acquisitions, dividend recapitalizations, growth financings, bridge loans, cash flow term loans, real estate financings/investments. It also focuses on investing in small-sized and medium-sized private companies rather than large public companies. The fund typically invests across all industry sectors, with a particular expertise in the energy and industrial sectors. It invests in aerospace and defense, chemicals, conglomerate services, consumer services, ecological, electronics, financial services, machinery, manufacturing, media, pharmaceuticals, retail, software, specialty minerals, textiles and leather, transportation, oil and gas production, coal production, materials, industrials, consumer discretionary, information technology, utilities, pipeline, storage, power generation and distribution, renewable and clean energy, oilfield services, healthcare, food and beverage, education, business services, and other select sectors. It prefers to invest in the United States and Canada. The fund seeks to invest between $10 million to $500 million per transaction in companies with EBITDA between $5 million and $150 million, sales value between $25 million and $500 million, and enterprise value between $5 million and $1000 million. It fund also co-invests for larger deals. The fund seeks control acquisitions by providing multiple levels of the capital structure. The fund focuses on sole, agented, club, or syndicated deals.
How we score dividend safety
The Infnits dividend safety score is a 0–10 rating derived from yield zone, payout ratio (when applicable), yield trend versus 5-year average, instrument type, and company size. Each factor is independently transparent — see the reasons above for exactly which factors contributed to PSEC's score.
For the full methodology including the in-app version that uses ETF look-through and historical cut data, see our methodology page.
This is educational, not investment advice. Dividend safety scores reflect a snapshot of public data on the "as of" date shown. Verify current data on the issuer's investor relations page or your brokerage before making decisions.
Frequently asked questions
Is PSEC safe?
On dividend safety specifically, Infnits scores PSEC 1.9/10 — risky. Prospect Capital Corporation carries multiple risk signals — review carefully before relying on the dividend. That score measures how durable the payout looks based on yield zone, payout ratio, yield trend, and instrument type; it does not measure price risk, valuation, or whether PSEC suits your portfolio.
Is PSEC's dividend safe?
Based on snapshot data — yield 28.09%, payout ratio 867%, instrument type stock — Infnits rates PSEC's dividend safety profile as risky (1.9/10). This is one signal, not a recommendation.
What is PSEC's current dividend yield?
PSEC has a current dividend yield of 28.09% as of October 28, 2026. Its 5-year average yield is 13.04%.
How is PSEC's safety score calculated?
The score combines yield zone (yields above 7% historically carry elevated cut risk), payout ratio (lower is safer), trend vs. 5-year average yield, instrument type (ETFs are inherently more diversified), and size (larger companies have more stable cash flows). Each factor is scored 0-2.5 and summed to a 0-10 result.
Where does this data come from?
Fundamentals are sourced from public market data and refreshed regularly. The "as of" date on each page reflects the snapshot used for the score. For real-time data, check the issuer's investor relations page or your brokerage.
Should I buy PSEC based on this score?
No — this is an educational score based on a handful of public signals, not investment advice. Use it as one input among many. For a portfolio-aware analysis with ETF look-through and personalized insights, install the Infnits app.
Get emailed when PSEC score changes.
PSEC head-to-head comparisons
See PSEC compared side-by-side with the most-searched peer tickers — yield, safety, growth trend, expense ratio, and tax treatment.
More PSEC analysis
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