The stock, however, has dropped 6 percent since the announcement and currently yields well over 10 percent. It also sells for well below the value of its oil and gas reserves and at just 72 percent of listed book value.

The primary reason is continuing investor fears about a reprise of the 2008-09 crash. But BreitBurn management has done a nice job reducing exposure to the vicissitude of energy commodity markets. In fact, it’s locked in significant revenue five years out by locking in prices for future output of oil and gas.

The upshot is BreitBurn is a high-yield stock where investor perception of risk is way out of whack with reality. Those who buy now get a huge, growing and tax advantaged dividend, as well as the potential for real upside when today’s wide-eyed volatility diminishes.