Short Sellers Bet Against Top Dividend Stocks

Short sellers have continued to by and large increase their short-sale bets against the quality high-yield dividend stocks. The price gains must lead short sellers to believe that the yields are getting too low and that the 2013 rally is getting long in the tooth. We tracked the short interest changes from the February 28 settlement date versus the February 15 settlement date, and we added color if applicable. You will notice some slight drops in select short selling activity, but the growth in the bets against these quality dividend stocks was much larger.

The top dividend stocks we are tracking the short interest in are as follows: Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO), American Electric Power Co. Inc. (NYSE: AEP), Annaly Capital Management Inc. (NYSE: NLY), AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T), Duke Energy Corp. (NYSE: DUK), General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE), Kimberly Clark Corp. (NYSE: KMB), Kinder Morgan Energy Partners L.P. (NYSE: KMP), Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK), Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG), Reynolds American Inc. (NYSE: RAI) and Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ).

Source: 24/7 Wall St.

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