Buybacks and Dividends: A Powerful Combo

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Last August, I devoted a column to the potential benefits of owning companies that are simultaneously paying dividends and buying back stock. My theory was that despite the fact that arguments can be made against the virtues of either of these actions taken by companies, (see the original column) the combination of dividends and buybacks might actually be very powerful, with the potential to provide investors with solid returns. While it's only been about a year since the original column ran, and that is too short of a timeframe from which to draw a final conclusion about the efficacy of the dividend/buyback combination, it's time to review the early progress.