To keep things even for U.S. investors, we screened out the ADRs held by Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-B) even though one is mentioned at the end of the screen to keep them on the list. Of the dozens of stocks held by the conglomerate, these are the eight highest dividends in the Buffett portfolio. We have put the stocks in order of the highest yields first and added in color on each if applicable. As you will see, most of the Buffett top dividend yields still offer upside to their consensus price targets for value investors looking for growth.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) leads the list with a common stock dividend yield of 4.2%. The company has pledged to keep its dividend strong, and this puts it higher than other oil giants. This stock is now within about 1% of new 52-week highs and the $62.42 share price compares to an analyst consensus price target of about $63.98.

Gannett Co. Inc. (NYSE: GCI) has a surprising yield of 3.6% for its common stock holders. This remains a small holding of Warren Buffett but investors might be surprised that the newspaper and media stock has risen to the point that it is up almost 100% from its 52-week low. At $21.62 as of now, the stock trades right at the $21.61 consensus analyst price target, and the 52-week trading range is $12.17 to $22.21.

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) offers a 3.3% yield, partly because shares have pulled back since earnings. The earnings report was not stellar by any means, but we think GE shares were sold off too hard after earnings when you consider the state of the bull market. Shares are at $23.24, and GE’s 52-week high is $23.90. Analysts have a consensus target price of $25.33. GE is likely to have a dividend hike yet again later this year.

Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) is a top bank and Buffett keeps buying more and more of this stock each and every quarter. The 3.2% common stock yield is rather impressive, and this remains at the top of the seven safest banks in America. This bank is challenging the highs from before the recession again, if you back out the dividend payments. At $39.30, its stock hit that multiyear high on May 15, and analysts have a consensus price target of $40.76.

Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) has lifted its dividend and is yielding 3.1% after a dividend hike in April. Buffett has trimmed the stake here over time, but activist investors have been on management’s back and pressing it to run the company better. If P&G keeps up its efforts, it could be worth even more. The market cap of $221 billion already makes it one of the largest public companies out there. With shares at $80.68, the consensus analyst target price is $82.78.

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a personal holding of Warren Buffett rather than Berkshire Hathaway. The bank pays a 3.1% dividend, despite not getting to be as aggressive on its capital plans. Jamie Dimon has been under fire here to split the CEO and chairman roles, but Buffett recently has praised Dimon as a great CEO who also deserves his chairman role. We would caution that one analyst showed that some $20 billion (10% of the share price) could come out of the stock if Dimon leaves the bank because there is a management replacement vacuum right now with no heir apparent. With shares at $51.09, the consensus analyst target is $56.21.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) recently raised its dividend. The drug and consumer products giant has been a habitual dividend-raising machine, and its product quality controls appear to be over. The 3.1% payout is impressive when you consider that this stock just hit an all-time high on May 15. Note that the consensus analyst price target of $86.50 is actually less than the current price of $87.64.

United Parcel Service Inc. (NYSE: UPS) ranked as number eight with a dividend yield of 2.8%. This comes as the stock is challenging all-time highs, and the shipping giant has raised its dividend payment consistently. With shares at $88.60, analysts have a consensus price target of $93.09 on the stock.

GlaxoSmithKline PLC (NYSE: GSK) is the ADR of the group, and it was only included because it screens out as having such a high yield at 4.3%. That would have put it at the top of the list. As this is an ADR and subject to currency changes altering the payouts each time in dollars for ADR holders, we are only representing the Yahoo! screen for the nominal payout rather than adding color here.

Jon C. Ogg

*The full Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway portfolio can be seen here.

The new Buffett holdings are below.

American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) was roughly 151.6 million shares, SAME AS last quarter.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (NYSE: BK) was almost 19 million shares, which appears to be slightly lower but it had been raised before. What matters here is that it remains a substantial holding still.

Chicago Bridge & Iron Co. (NYSE: CBI) was a NEW POSITION at just over 6.5 million shares worth over $400 million.

Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) was more than 400 million shares due to the stock split of 2012, but this is virtually the SAME AS BEFORE.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is the SAME POSITION at 24.1 million shares, but this is lower than in prior quarters.

Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) was the SAME POSITION at 4,333,363 shares.

DaVita Inc. (NYSE: DVA) was a LARGER POSITION and already more than a 10% stake and we recently saw that Berkshire Hathaway had entered into a standstill agreement not to buy more than 25% of the company after already having increased its stake recently. This was listed as 14.97 million shares as of March 31 versus 13.6 million shares before.

Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) was the SAME POSITION at roughly 4 million shares.

DirecTV (NASDAQ: DTV) was HIGHER YET AGAIN at 37.275 million shares versus almost 34 million shares and that was also higher than before.

Gannett Co. (NYSE: GCI) was the SAME POSITION of 1.74 million shares.

General Electric Corp. (NYSE: GE) is listed as the SAME POSITION at 588,900 shares, but this is still way down from prior reports.

General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) is the SAME POSITION at 25 million shares, but this was previously up from smaller positions.

GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) is the SAME POSITION at 1.51 million shares.

We tracked the short interest in these top dividend stocks: 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).

As we have said, it takes much more conviction to short sell a stock that has a very high dividend. On top of having to pay a broker loan-call rate to borrow the stock, the dividend payouts have to be paid, and the ex-dividend dates play into the equation as well. We compared the short interest settlement dates of April 30 and April 15 and gave added color compared to the recent past on each.

Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) saw a severe drop in the short interest, losing close to one-fifth of the shares short: 21.11 million versus 26.08 million. Altria’s dividend yield is now down to 4.8% since the stock is back up at highs.

American Electric Power Co. Inc. (NYSE: AEP) saw a big 12% pop in the short interest to 4.34 million shares from 3.86 million shares, even though this stock remains high in price again. AEP’s dividend yield is at 3.8%.

Annaly Capital Management Inc. (NYSE: NLY) saw a minor drop as short sellers wanted to avoid paying that dividend, down to 25.6 million shares short versus 26.04 million. Annaly has a current yield of about 11.9%, based on its last payout.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) saw almost a 10% drop in its short interest to 71.73 million shares, versus 78.29 million shares. AT&T’s dividend is 4.8%.

Duke Energy Corp. (NYSE: DUK) saw only a small decline in the short interest after what had previously been a very large drop. The short interest fell to 6.814 million shares from 6.853 million shares in the prior short interest. Before that it had been 7.8 million the prior report. This is again the lowest reading since October, but the days to cover rose to 3.41 from 2.43. Duke has a dividend yield of about 4.1%.

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) has seen some serious profit taking, and new bets come against after earnings. We just saw the second rise in the short interest, up to 94.248 million shares, at the end of April. This is up from 82.69 million shares before and from 78.92 million shares short two periods ago. Also note that GE’s short interest is the highest in almost a year now. The days to cover ticked down to 1.75 from 2.43 days, and GE outyields the other conglomerates with a 3.3% yield.

Kimberly-Clark Corp. (NYSE: KMB) saw a marginal decrease in the short interest after what had been a serious increase in the bets against its massive rise. Its short interest fell to 7.896 million shares, versus 8.05 million shares short in mid-April and 6.7 million as of the end of March. This consumer products giant finally has seen shares pull back a bit, and the dividend is 3.1%.

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners L.P. (NYSE: KMP) saw its fourth straight gain in the short interest as of April 30, to 3.74 million shares (units). It was 3.728 million shares (units) in mid-April, and the March 28 short interest was 3.357 million units. This is yet again the highest short interest back to last November. Its dividend is actually a distribution and is the equivalent of about 6% now that the price has come back down a bit.

Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) saw a slight drop in the short interest to 26.57 million shares, but that was after the prior report jumped way up to 28.5 million shares from 21.33 million shares short. Merck’s dividend yield is about 3.8% now that shares have backed off marginally.

Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) saw a rather large drop of 16% in its short interest to 19.82 million shares from 23.6 million shares in mid-April. P&G’s dividend is back up to 3.1%, now that shares sold off $4 after earnings.

Reynolds American Inc. (NYSE: RAI) saw a large gain in the short interest to 10.75 million shares, versus 9.676 million shares at the end of March and a prior near-term high of 10.38 million shares in mid-March. Reynolds has a yield of only about 4.9% as shares are close to new highs all over again.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) saw a slight uptick to 52.197 million shares short. This was 51.423 million shares as of April 15 and 57.637 million shares at the end of March. Verizon’s short interest peaked at more than 61 million shares short in February, and its dividend yield is down to 3.9%.

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) short interest rose 14% to 94.25 million shares. About 0.9% of GE’s float is now short.

Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) saw short interest fall by 20.8% to 206.34 million shares, about 5.5% of the company’s total float.

Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) short interest fell 2.1% to 164.26 million shares, which represents 1.5% of the company’s float.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) saw a 1.5% rise in short interest to 52.2 million shares, which represents about 1.8% of the firm’s float.

Alpha Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: ANR) showed a rise of 13.1% in short interest, to 33.02 million shares, about 13.4% of Alpha’s float.

McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) showed a drop of 2.8% in short interest, to 11 million shares, about 15.1% of the company’s float.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) saw short interest rise by 107.2% to 41.59 million shares, or 2.4% of the company’s float.

BlackBerry (NASDAQ: BBRY) saw short interest rise by 0.2% to 164.69 million shares, or 33.3% of the total float.

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) posted a 16.3% drop in short interest, to 99.42 million shares, about 1.3% of Microsoft’s float.

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) short interest declined by 7.2%, to 22.35 million shares or about 1.5% of the company’s float.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) saw short interest decrease by 2.1% to 31.58 million shares or 26% of the company’s float.

Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) saw short interest rise by 1.2% to 58.7 million shares or about 1.1% of the company’s float.

The most interesting changes in this two-week period are the declines in short interest in Nokia, BlackBerry and Microsoft, as well as the concomitant doubling of short interest in Apple. That is a pretty clear indication that investors are betting that three players in the mobile sector are about to put more pressure on the sector leader.

Short interest in Dell declined for the third period in a row. It will be interesting to see if today’s offer from Carl Icahn and Southeastern Capital Management moves the needle at all. The new offer is certainly not one that cannot be refused.

The key trend is that companies still are managing to meet or beat earnings expectations. Corporate revenues are coming in soft, to the point that the concerns cannot just be ignored. These soft revenue reports are even after many analysts had lowered sales expectations ahead of and during earnings season.

We have just lowered our own forecast for the payrolls expectations with unemployment this Friday, following weaker TrimTabs payrolls and ADP payrolls reports. Even construction spending is starting to cool off. Market technician Carter Worth of Oppenheimer recently indicated on CNBC that the market is even more bifurcated than it has been in the past going into this May cycle.

One bit of good news may be that Merrill Lynch sees several breakout stocks despite the Sell in May history. We are growing more concerned that companies are lowering their expectations for sales in the rest of 2013. Europe keeps reporting lower and lower growth, or worse outright worse into recession territory. Japan’s only saving grace is coming from a massive stimulus package from the Bank of Japan under Abe.

Our take is that the easier earnings and sales growth cycle has peaked, at the same time that the stock market is up well above 10% after the first 4 months of the year. The stock market is supposed to be a voting proxy for what things will look like six months or so into the future. And long-term bond yields are hitting back at very low levels rather than rising. At some point, investors may not be able to stomach the valuations they are paying for these so-called defensive stocks and for high-yield dividends that are getting less high by the day. Junk bonds just hit another cycle low, and we even called it a crush-depth valuation.

We are now already at about 70% of the S&P 500 Index companies that have reported. What are we supposed to consider when growth is anemic on earnings and sales growth is nonexistent? We now may be facing only 2.5% or 3% earnings growth ahead, depending upon which source you are focusing on.  The risks ahead are combined for big multinational players because of a high dollar value and weak organic demand from Europe and Asia.

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) was perhaps the biggest disappointment to us this whole earnings season if its drop was “only” about 10% from peak to trough. GE is the best yield of the DJIA conglomerates but shares were shelled after earnings. International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) is also showing no sales growth at all, and its “high” dividend hike was actually a severe disappointment to us. Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) has limited growth as well, and the only good news here on its earnings was that it was at least anticipated. Even United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX) has taken it on the chin. More concern came in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) and in J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) now that we have seen a serious bank call that the best has been seen for 2013 from financials. And what are you supposed to make of it if Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) is out yet again looking to cut capacity even further that will result in layoffs.

The lower copper and oil prices have to be considered as well, as they signal economic weakness ahead. Oil inventories just came in at the highest reading ever since they started tracking them.

Investors keep buying up stocks. Maybe that will continue, but the strong performance at some point has to be based upon something more than that the Fed and Treasury will keep the money cheap and keep the asset buying and quantitative easing measures around perpetually.

Read Also: Biotech Bubble Against Big Pharma Valuations?

What is funny is that we here are not really scared of stocks and valuations in many instances. The problem is that this is very selective and there are many cross currents that do not add up in a logical manner for value investors right now. Maybe the ISM forecast of the U.S. avoiding a 2013 recession and a surprising rise of consumer confidence are all that really matter ahead for the bulls.

The top dividend stocks we are tracking in the short interest are 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).

As we have said before, it takes much more conviction to short sell a stock that has a very high dividend. On top of having to pay a broker loan-call rate to borrow the stock, the dividend payouts have to be paid and the ex-dividend dates play into the equation as well.

Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) ticked way back up and gave back all the losses in the short interest from the prior report. This was 26.08 million shares as of April 15, up from 23.829 million in the prior report and up from 24.55 million shares short the month before that. This was the highest reading since the end of December. Altria’s dividend yield is now 4.95%.

American Electric Power Co. Inc. (NYSE: AEP) saw short sellers back off into the stock’s strength. This fell to 3.86 million shares in the April 15 short interest. March 28 short interest was down to 4.37 million share,s versus 5.18 million as of mid-March. AEP yields 3.7% as shares have risen and risen.

Annaly Capital Management Inc. (NYSE: NLY) saw a real drop as short sellers wanted to avoid paying that dividend. The April 15 short interest fell to 26.04 million shares, versus 29.85 million shares in the previous period and from 29.37 million shares before that. What is interesting is that the days to cover rose to 3.61 from 2.62 in the prior report. Annaly has a current yield of about 11.49%, based on its last payout.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) saw a slight downtick to 78.29 million shares short as of April 15, versus March 28′s count of 81.68 million shares short. AT&T’s dividend is 4.86% after the earnings drop.

Duke Energy Corp. (NYSE: DUK) saw a significant decline to 6.85 million shares in the short interest from 7.8 million in the prior report. This was the lowest reading since October, and even the days to cover fell to 2.43 from 3.48. Duke has a dividend yield of about 4.1%, as shares are higher from the last report.

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) has seen some serious profit taking and new bets come against after earnings, but that was after the short interest date cutoff. The short interest actually did rise ahead of earnings to 82.69 million shares, versus 78.92 million shares in the prior report. The days to cover ticked up a bit to 2.43. GE still outyields the other conglomerates, with a 3.46% yield now that shares have taken such a hit.

Kimberly-Clark Corp. (NYSE: KMB) saw a serious increase in the bets against its massive rise. The stock has hit new high after new high, up until recent days, but the short interest jumped back up to 8.05 million shares from 6.7 million at the end of March. This consumer products giant keeps seeing the shares rise, and the yield is 3.13% now.

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners L.P. (NYSE: KMP) saw its third gain in the short interest as of April 15 to 3.728 million shares (units). The March 28 short interest was 3.357 million shares, versus 2.723 million shares short in mid-March. This is the highest short interest back to last November. Its dividend is actually a distribution and now is the equivalent of about 5.61%.

Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) saw a massive increase in the short interest that is larger than almost all others. This short interest in mid-April went up a whopping 33% to 28.5 million shares. The March 28 short interest was 21.33 million shares, versus 26.18 million shares short in mid-March. Note that this was the highest short interest reading since last August. Merck’s dividend yield is about 3.59% now that shares have appreciated.

Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) saw a decent gain in the short interest, meaning that short sellers cleaned up on this week’s price drop. The April 15 short interest was 23.6 million shares, versus 21.329 million shares at the end of March and 24.744 million shares short in mid-March. P&G’s dividend is back up to 3.12%, now that shares sold off after earnings.

Reynolds American Inc. (NYSE: RAI) saw a large gain in the short interest to 10.75 million shares, versus 9.676 million shares at the end of March and a prior near-term high of 10.38 million shares in mid-March. Reynolds has a yield of about 5.13% as shares have remained resilient.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) short sellers must have known it was time to step aside into the stock strength. The April 15 short interest fell to 51.423 million shares, versus 57.637 million shares at the end of March and 60.962 million shares short in mid-March. Verizon yields only 3.98% since its shares have hit higher and higher multiyear highs.

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) short interest rose 4.8% to 82.7 million shares. About 0.8% of GE’s float is now short.

Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) saw short interest fall by 12.8% to 260.55 million shares, about 7% of the company’s total float.

Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) short interest rose 7.1% to 167.8 million shares, which represents 1.6% of the company’s float.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) saw a 10.8% drop in short interest to 51.42 million shares, which represents about 1.8% of the firm’s float.

Alpha Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: ANR) showed a rise of 4.8% in short interest, to 29.19 million shares, about 13.4% of Alpha’s float.

McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) showed a drop of 2.8% in short interest, to 11 million shares, about 1.1% of the company’s float.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) saw short interest rise by 0.3% to 20.01 million shares, or 2.1% of the company’s float.

BlackBerry (NASDAQ: BBRY) saw short interest rise by 5.6% to 164.34 million shares, or 33.2% of the total float. Short interest continues to be reported under the company’s previous name, Research in Motion Ltd., but the stock symbol has been changed to BBRY.

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) posted a 9.9% rise in short interest, to 118.71 million shares, about 1.6% of Microsoft’s float.

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) short interest declined by 18.7%, to 24.09 million shares or about 1.6% of the company’s float.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) saw short interest decrease by 6.3% to 32.25 million shares or 26.5% of the company’s float.

Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) saw short interest rise by 7.7% to 58 million shares or about 1.1% of the company’s float.

Short interest in Dell has declined by double-digit percentages for the past two reports. Competition to the bid from Michael Dell and his partners, once believed to be strong enough to push the stock price higher, had begun to evaporate a few weeks ago and now that one competitive bidder has withdrawn the shares trade once again right around the level of the original take-private bid.

Short interest in Microsoft was rising following reports on weakness in the PC market. The shorts likely will have bailed out by the next short interest report, now that the company has posted solid earnings for the first quarter.

And in the smartphone market, the drop in Nokia’s short interest could indicate that traders see the company getting some benefit from Apple’s perceived woes. BlackBerry, where a third of the shares are now short, has few believers left in its ability to recover.

The U.S. dollar index is trading up 0.43% today, now at 83.032. The GSCI commodity index is flat at 609.10. WTI crude oil closed flat today, at $89.18 a barrel on the June futures contract. Brent crude trades down 0.1% at $100.26 a barrel. Natural gas is down 0.8% today at about $4.23 per million BTUs. Gold settled down 0.9% today at $1,408.80 an ounce.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up more than 152 points to 14,719.53 (1.05%), the NASDAQ rose nearly 36 points (1.11%) to 3,269.33, and the S&P 500 rose 1.04% or more than 16 points to 1,578.78.

There were a several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Bankrate Inc. (NYSE: RATE) cut to ‘sell’ at Goldman Sachs; Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM) cut to ‘underperform’ at BofA/Merrill Lynch; Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) raised to ‘overweight’ with a price target of $100 at J.P. Morgan; Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) raised to ‘buy’ with a price target of $25 at SunTrust Robinson Humphreys; and General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) reiterated as ‘buy’ with a price target of $25 at Argus.

Earnings reports since markets closed last night resulted in some price moves today, including these as of the last half hour of trading: Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) is up 24.9% at $217.81 after posting a new 52-week high of $219.38 earlier today (more coverage here); Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) is down 1.5% at $53.22; Stillwater Mining Co. (NYSE: SWC) is up 1.2% at $10.99; Texas Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: TXN) is up 2.5% at $35.67 after posting a new 52-week high of $36.23 earlier today (more coverage here); AK Steel Holding Corp. (NYSE: AKS) is up 0.5% at $2.94; Coach Inc. (NYSE: COH) is up 10.5% at $55.88; Gannett Co. Inc. (NYSE: GCI) is down 5.2% at $19.94; Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT) is up 1.5% at $97.24 after posting a new 52-week high of $99.49 earlier today (more coverage here); and RadioShack Corp. (NYSE: RSH) is up 2.1% at $3.21 (more coverage here).

Before markets open tomorrow morning we are scheduled to hear earnings reports from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T), Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ: BRCM), Edwards Lifesciences Corp. (NYSE: EW), Juniper Networks Inc. (NYSE: JNPR), Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM), Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE: ABX), Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW), Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F), Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG), and Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S).

Some standouts among heavily traded stocks today include:

Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) is up 9.8% at $16.62. The air lines reported decent earnings today, but is forecasting lower fuel costs going forward. More coverage here.

American International Group Inc. (NYSE: AIG) is up 5.2% at $40.60. The insurer won a lawsuit dismissal in California today.

Arch Coal Inc. (NYSE: ACI) is down 5.9% at $4.60. The coal miner’s quarterly report came in as poorly as expected and its outlook is now particularly strong. More coverage here.

Stay tuned for Wednesday. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

• 7:00 a.m. – Mortgage Bankers Association purchase applications
• 8:30 a.m. – Durable goods orders
• 10:30 a.m. – EIA weekly petroleum status report
• 1:00 p.m. – 5-year note auction

The 2013 primer for “Sell in May and Go Away!” will be more concise and quick-hit. More detailed and recent background data is available in links, for a broader, fresh reading on each point.

Maybe this really was supposed to be a “Sell in April” call as the markets have become choppy after huge gains. Investors have high profits that they can still lock in, but many investors still have managed to miss the bull market without making much in profits outside of their bond funds. Due to attempts to chase returns and to catch up on missing five years of retirement investing, the first quarter saw record inflows of capital into stock funds, if you measure the past decade or so. The fact that interest is being rekindled in stocks actually may lead to some stabilizing support in May, even if the economic data remains spotty to cautious.

Corporate earnings are coming out mixed. The overall focus of just earnings and guidance is positive on the bottom line, but revenue growth for the major companies remains stodgy and hard to find this year. Weak international markets and emerging markets are playing into that, as is the rising value of the U.S. dollar relative to other currencies.

Economic readings are showing only modest growth or contraction. If you have looked at the various purchasing managers’ index readings and the regional Federal Reserve and regional economic reports, the sentiment is either in the red, showing contraction, or growth that remains so low that it might as well be contraction.

Europe remains a serious point of weakness. Somehow the tiny banking island nation of Cyprus managed to dwarf the problems of Greece, Italy and elsewhere. Now we have France effectively in a recession again, and Germany’s reports are teetering back to recessionary levels. If these readings do not improve, then growth forecasts for later in 2013 will revert to recessionary projections. That is bad for exporters. The U.K. even lost another Triple-A rating.

China and emerging markets are less than robust. The recent International Monetary Fund and other international meetings point to emerging markets not being strong enough to support their internal growth projections. Growth in Brazil and Russia may be better than in India, but the whole BRIC complex is running below its capabilities. China has been called the growth engine of the world but it also is showing more manufacturing weakness as well.

Consumers are facing pressure. Weaker consumer sentiment has come after the start of higher taxes, but commodities may help stabilize the bleeding. Consumers have had to face higher payroll taxes and higher food prices. Overall inflation is tame. This is hurting sentiment and some spending measurements. The good news here is that lower oil prices will save consumers directly at the pump, which helps them have more spending money for restaurants, entertainment and other consumer spending issues. If oil prices remain low, this may be a stabilizing force against what would otherwise be a less than robust consumer. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT), Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) and even Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) are all within 1% or so of multiyear highs in their share prices.

Broader economic barometer companies are faltering. Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) showed serious concerns about the year ahead for pre-infrastructure and mining outfits. The only saving graces were that investors already were figuring this into the share price and that the company will spend up to $1 billion to repurchase shares on the cheap. General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) managed to meet many expectations, but this one had run up and valuation met what is obviously going to be slower growth ahead for this economic bellwether as well.

Banking excitement has petered out. The post-earnings reaction to banks has not carried the 2012 excitement much further into 2013. It is getting harder to find the same enthusiasm around Bank of America Corp (NYSE: BAC) and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM). Even a discount to book value argument has not yet handily changed after about four years of recovery. Jamie Dimon even warned of more regulatory action ahead.

Technology is waning for the bulls. The good news is that Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) managed to hold up better than expected after earnings. The bad news is that Windows 8 has been partially blamed for a weak PC sales cycle that was the worst in years so far. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) has lost its way and wrecked many investor fortunes who wanted to chase what was supposed to be a sure thing. International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) showed not just that it had little growth, but contraction. It simply may have run out of room to grow.

Metals have been serious points of weakness. Both have hit multiyear lows, but gold has wrecked more market-oriented finances and weak miner trends may imply that gold has not found a new investor base yet. Copper forecasts have come down due to the global demand and supply issues, and copper is arguably one of the biggest leading indicators of them all for emerging market and Chinese expansion. Elsewhere in metals, Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) manages to keep selling a very slow and targeted turnaround story, and its shares are still lower than before its recent earnings and guidance.

A Recent History of “Sell in May and Go Away!”

At the end of April of 2012, there was a long road of political hate ahead of the U.S. presidential election, with an economy that was still sluggish but avoiding recession. The labor data was still choppy, with unemployment at about 8.2% due to lower labor force participation rates. Earnings growth was slowing then as well, and Europe was actually even more of a concern in 2012 than it is in 2013. The good news is that equity values were attractive and the FOMC still had more quantitative easing measures in its pocket at the time, with the pledge of maintaining an “exceptionally low rate policy” through the end of 2014.

The year 2011 felt close to a repeat of 2010, with the worries not just about the PIIGS (Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece, Spain), but about the possibilities of a U.S. debt rating downgrade, which did ultimately come. Housing was still in the tank and employment was not yet in a full-blown recovery in America. While the end of April to the end of May did see a drop of 800 points in the DJIA, from almost 12,900 in late April and early May to just above 12,000 by late May and 11,900 by late June, it was late July and August that were the cruel months for the DJIA as companies began to suffer serious earnings concerns. The DJIA bottomed out just under 10,600 in August. By late October the market was back above 12,000 again.

But 2009 was a very different year because the market was recovering from the crash and stocks were still benefitting from that move. Summer of 2010 has a nasty start as investors worried about a double-dip recession, as housing prices continued to sink and unemployment was still a prime concern. We also faced that punishing event called the “Flash Crash.” Another big distraction was BP PLC (NYSE: BP), for its disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, and America and the rest of the world was starting to consider some problems in nations called the PIIGS. The market peaked around 11,300 in late April and had sunk to a 9,800 by early May. Even around July 6, the DJIA was only near 10,200, and it was only back up to almost 10,500 after the end of August around Labor Day.

These are some of this Tuesday’s top analyst upgrades, initiations and positive analyst research calls seen from Wall St. today.

ArcelorMittal (NYSE: MT) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Nomura.

Banco Santander S.A. (NYSE: SAN) was raised to Neutral from Sell at UBS.

Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight and its target price was raised to $16 from $13 at Morgan Stanley.

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) was raised to Overweight from Neutral and the target price was raised to $100 from $93 at J.P. Morgan.

Conn’s Inc. (NASDAQ: CONN) was named as Bull of the Day at Zacks Investment Research.

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) was reiterated as Buy with a $25 price target by Argus, with the explanation that the two-day sell-off is a great buying opportunity.

Read also: Three Analysts Say to Buy Apple Ahead of Earnings

Informatica Corp. (NASDAQ: INFA) was raised to Neutral based on new orders and backlog from Underperform at Credit Suisse.

Kimberly-Clark Corp. (NYSE: KMB) was reiterated Buy but raised price target to $116 from $98 based on 20-times earnings at Argus.

MBIA Inc. (NYSE: MBI) was raised to Hold from Sell by S&P Capital IQ late on Monday.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $25 price target at SunTrust Robinson Humphreys.

Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: VECO) was raised to Outperform from Perform at Oppenheimer and maintained as Buy with $48 price target at Canaccord Genuity.

See also: Top Analyst Downgrades and Negative Views