This year’s Dogs of the Dow are: Exxon, (XOM), Walmart, (WMT), (GE), and Procter & Gamble, (PG). Here are the 2009 Performance and current Dividend Yields for these 4 dividend paying stocks:
| Ticker | Price | Performance (Year) | Dividend Yield |
| PG | $60.63 | 1.18% | 2.90% |
| GE | $15.13 | -1.88% | 2.64% |
| WMT | $53.45 | -2.59% | 2.04% |
| XOM | $68.19 | -12.61% | 2.46% |
As you can see, these dividend yields, while respectable, aren’t that outstanding.
We’ve compared these dividend yields with Jan. 2011 puts on our Put vs. Dividend Comparison table:
| Ticker | Price | Performance (Year) | Dividend Yield | Jan.2011 Put Yields | Jan.2011 Put Strike Prices | Breakeven |
| PG | $60.63 | 1.18% | 2.90% | 10.25% | $60.00 | $53.85 |
| GE | $15.13 | -1.88% | 2.64% | 13.80% | $15.00 | $12.93 |
| WMT | $53.45 | -2.59% | 2.04% | 6.40% | $50.00 | $46.80 |
| XOM | $68.19 | -12.61% | 2.46% | 8.23% | $65.00 | $59.65 |
In addition to achieving a much higher yield than the current dividends, selling put options gives you a lower breakeven price, cash within 3 days after making the trade, and defers your tax deadline on the trade until April 15, 2012. The downside: Your gains are taxed at your personal tax rate, and you won’t participate in any price appreciation, if there is one, but you will know what your return is now.
P.O.
Box 510, Carmel, NY 10512 Tel (Toll-Free): 866-487-7664