I Just Made This “10% Trade” with Aflac (AFL)

[stextbox id=”info”]Please keep in mind that these “10% Trade” alerts are for information purposes only. We’re not registered financial advisors and these aren’t specific trade recommendations for you as an individual. Each of our readers have different financial situations, risk tolerance, goals, time frames, etc. The ideas we publish are simply ideas that we feel fit our specific needs and that we’re personally making in our own portfolios. You should also be aware that some of the trade details (specifically stock prices and options premiums) are certain to change from the time we make our trade to the time you’re alerted about it. So please don’t attempt to make this “10% Trade” yourself without first doing your own due diligence and research.[/stextbox]

When it comes to safely boosting income, a “10% Trade” continues to be my preferred vehicle.

If you’re not familiar, a “10% Trade” is a conservative income-oriented trade that involves selling either a covered call or a cash-secured put on a reasonably-priced, high-quality dividend growth stock.

These trades typically last just six to 10 weeks — and they can be a relatively safe way to double… triple… or even quadruple your annualized yield.

Consider the “10% Trade” I made with Dividend Champion Aflac (AFL) on Friday…

At the time I made my trade, AFL was selling for $61.21 per share and the August 16, $60.00 puts were going for $1.33 per share.

My “10% Trade” involved selling two of these puts… and there are only two possible ways this trade will work out.

On one hand, I’d get to generate a 10.0% annualized yield from AFL without even owning the stock.

That’s quadruple the stock’s “regular” dividend yield of 2.4%.

On the other hand, I’d get paid $266.00 to buy AFL — an already attractively-priced stock — for even cheaper than what it was selling for on Friday.

That said, I’ll be happy however this trade works out.

Let’s take a closer look at each scenario…

Scenario 1: AFL falls below $60.00 by August 16
If AFL falls below $60.00 by August 16, I’ll be obligated to buy 200 shares at $60.00 per share.

[hana-code-insert name=’adsense-article’ /]In exchange for my agreement, I was paid an instant $266.00 (200 shares X $1.33 per share) before commissions.

This money was deposited into my account immediately.

Taking this income into consideration – and subtracting out the commissions – my cost-basis will drop to $58.77 per share.

That’s a 4.0% discount to the $61.21 share price that AFL was selling for at the time I made this trade.

Considering how the stock already looks attractive at current levels, the opportunity to pick up shares at an additional discount is particularly appealing to me.

Scenario 2: AFL stays above $60.00 by August 16
If AFL stays above $60.00 by August 16, the contract expires worthless and I get to keep the $266.00 in income (before commissions).

After commissions, this works out to a 2.1% return on what my purchase obligation would have been ($1.33 / $60.00) in 78 days.

If I can repeat these results over the period of a year I could generate a 10.0% yield from AFL without even buying shares.

This is just one more example of why when it comes to safely boosting income, a “10% Trade” continues to be my vehicle of choice.

Please note: The reason I’ve gone public with many of my real-life, real-money “10% Trades” is so you can see for yourself how it’s possible to double… triple… or even quadruple your annualized yield on high-quality dividend growth stocks.

Just keep in mind that these trades aren’t intended to be specific recommendations for you as an individual. Everyone has different financial situations, risk tolerance, goals, time frames, etc.

Greg Patrick
TradesOfTheDay.com

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