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It looks like we have our most likely candidates for the "Dogs of the Dow" for 2009.  This is often misunderstood as an investment vehicle.  These are the 10 highest dividend-yielding stocks out of the 30 DJIA components rather than the worst 10 of 30 DJIA performers from the prior year.  When you go back and look, there are many of these which actually were among the worst performers.  As of yesterday morning we had not seen any formal announcements as to which DJIA components were on this list, so do not be shocked if there are some changes.  Also, another thing to consider is that the dividend "actuality" may change in many of these financial stocks as some announcements have already been made.

DJIA Component (Ticker)              YIELD
Alcoa (NYSE: AA)                        6.40%
AT&T (NYSE: T)                           5.90%
Bank of America (NYSE: BAC)      9.70%   
Citigroup (NYSE: C)                      9.40%
DuPont (NYSE: DD)                      6.50%
General Electric (NYSE: GE)         7.80%
JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM)      4.90%
Merck (NYSE: MRK)                     5.10%
Pfizer (NYSE: PFE)                       7.20%
Verizon (NYSE: VZ)                       5.50%

We would also advise you that the next round of DJIA changes could be coming now that so many changes are in the works inside most large companies today.  2008 was a year of being "A Dog for the Dogs of the Dow" with many of these stocks down more than 50% from January 1, 2008.

Just a week ago, there was a 5.00% dividend yield hurdle which is now lower because of some year end rallies.  Again, don’t be shocked if the actual Dogs are slightly different than this list.

Jon C. Ogg
January 2, 2009