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18 Attractive Dividend Stocks
Oppenheimer has compiled a list of 18 dividend stocks that it feels "look attractive from a valuation and potential total return perspective." In a note to clients they said "This week we sought out and screened for stocks that appeared to us to be stocks off their 52-week high that offer attractive dividends and have prospects, in our view, for dividend growth and capital appreciation."
These 18 stocks merit consideration for a dividend-oriented portfolio, according to Oppenheimer (read commentary on these stocks here):
| Pick | Symbol | P/E | Div Yield |
|---|---|---|---|
| Automatic Data Processing | ADP | 26.5 | 2.5% |
| American Tower Corporation | AMT | 70.7 | 2.2% |
| Boeing | BA | 16.0 | 3.7% |
| CA | CA | 17.0 | 3.4% |
| Coach | COH | 29.2 | 3.5% |
| Darden Restaurants | DRI | 22.6 | 3.1% |
| Ford Motor | F | 7.2 | 4.8% |
| Harley-Davidson | HOG | 12.1 | 2.9% |
| H&R Block | HRB | 19.6 | 2.4% |
| Lockheed Martin | LMT | 18.9 | 3.0% |
| LyondellBasell Industries | LYB | 8.4 | 3.9% |
| Macquarie Infrastructure | MIC | - | 7.5% |
| Merck | MRK | 33.5 | 3.6% |
| Microsoft | MSFT | 37.3 | 2.8% |
| Pfizer | PFE | 27.0 | 3.4% |
| Six Flags Entertainment | SIX | 32.7 | 4.5% |
| Whirlpool | WHR | 16.1 | 2.3% |
| Watsco | WSO | 26.3 | 2.6% |
Weekly Covered Calls For Mar 11
If we plug those 18 stocks into Born To Sell's screener and look for weekly covered calls for the Mar 11 expiration, we find several offering 32% annualized returns for a 10 day trade. Also, there is no earnings risk before Mar 11:
Note that MRK has an ex-dividend date the same day as the weekly option expiration. This is a case where you'll have to be careful about early exercise.
Weekly Covered Calls For Mar 18
If you prefer a 2.5-week trade, there are several covered calls offering 24% annualized returns (2%/month) or greater, and again without earnings risk before expiration:
Weekly Covered Calls For Apr 15 Tax Day
If you'd like to earn some income between today and tax day, there are several choices from Oppenheimer's list yielding 13% or more in annualized return for covered calls between now and Apr 15 expiration (and only one, DRI, with earnings risk):
Note: These are not trade recommendations. They are candidate stocks from Oppenheimer. Do your own research, keep position sizes modest, and stay diversified.
Mike Scanlin is the founder of Born To Sell and has been writing covered calls for a long time.