We recently compiled a list of the 7 Best Warren Buffett Dividend Stocks According to Short Sellers. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) stands against the other Warren Buffett dividend stocks.
Although the financial world is often seen as serious and analytical, short selling introduces an element of excitement and complexity to market dynamics. Short selling is a strategy where investors borrow shares of a stock, anticipating that the market price will drop by the time they need to purchase the shares to return them. While many short sellers have scaled back since the meme stock frenzy began, the strategy of betting against stocks remains in practice. Short sellers saw strong gains in the second quarter of this year, successfully betting against stocks despite the broader market’s upward trend. Data from S3 Partners LLC showed they earned $10 billion in paper profits during the quarter. These gains, driven by sectors like industrials, healthcare, and financials, helped offset a $15.7 billion mark-to-market loss in the technology sector.
The fact that short sellers were able to profit while the market was rising suggests that investors are concentrating on a handful of large-cap tech stocks amid an uncertain economic environment, leaving vulnerabilities in other sectors. During the quarter ending June 28, the broader market gained roughly 4%. Meanwhile, the tech-focused Nasdaq 100 Index saw a 7.8% gain over the same period.
Also read: 10 Worst Booming Stocks to Buy According to Short Sellers
It’s clear that short sellers capitalize on overlooked or troubled areas of the market. Last year, the turmoil in regional banks attracted short sellers, who stirred controversy by examining lenders’ balance sheets for vulnerabilities linked to rising interest rates and betting against their stocks. In 2023, while the broader market rallied, this sector became a key area of success for these traders. The volatility that affected regional bank stocks earlier this year again generated substantial paper profits for short sellers, echoing the gains they made during last year’s upheaval in the sector. Now analysts are viewing short sellers in a completely new perspective. Carson Block, the founder of Muddy Waters Research, is convinced that markets need short sellers more than ever. However, he notes that a persistent stock rally and new regulatory challenges are creating difficulties for his bearish colleagues, who are struggling to secure capital. Here are some comments from the investor:
“It’s easy to demonize short sellers as part of a populist message and somehow call us the suits. The market needs short sellers more than ever given the amount of games that are being played, but if the long-side doesn’t care, this can continue — until it doesn’t.”
Alongside Block, numerous respected investors and experts have emphasized that short selling plays a crucial role in public markets. It helps enhance price accuracy, ensures better capital allocation, prevents financial bubbles, and uncovers fraud. In 2006, during Berkshire Hathaway‘s annual shareholder meeting, Warren Buffett highlighted that financially strong companies could benefit from short sellers, as they eventually have to buy back the stock. He believes short sellers often uncover wrongdoing or suspicious activities. Buffett remarked that there is nothing inherently wrong with short selling, noting that in many cases where there has been significant short interest, the companies involved were later exposed as fraudulent or engaging in questionable practices. With this, we will take a look at some of the best Warren Buffett dividend stocks according to short sellers.
Our Methodology:
For this list, we first scanned Berkshire Hathaway’s 13F portfolio as of Q2 2024 and identified dividend stocks from the list. From that list, we shortlisted dividend companies with the lowest percentage of shares outstanding that were sold short as of September 15 and ranked them in descending order of the stocks’ short interest.
We also measured hedge fund sentiment around each stock according to Insider Monkey’s database of 912 funds as of Q2 2024. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points. (see more details here).
A hand holding a rating chart, emphasizing the importance of credit ratings in the financial services sector.
Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO)
Short % of Shares Outstanding: 0.85%
An American financial services company, Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) ranks second on our list of the best Warren Buffett dividend stocks according to short sellers. The company offers credit ratings and analytical solutions to investors and businesses. Since the start of 2024, the stock has surged by nearly 25% and its 12-month returns came in at roughly 40%. One of the main reasons for the stock’s outperformance is that its risk analysis and credit ratings business continue to perform well.
In the second quarter of 2024, Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) reported robust earnings, thanks to the success of its top-rated ratings franchise. It achieved revenue of $1.8 billion, reflecting a 21% increase compared to the same period last year. This double-digit revenue growth bolstered product development and innovation. In addition, the company established several promising strategic partnerships with leading industry firms to broaden the availability and impact of its data and insights.
Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) is a strong company from a dividend point of view. The company’s strong cash reserves are sufficient to sustain dividend payments for many years to come. In the first six months of 2024, it reported an operating cash flow of over $1.4 billion, up from $1.2 billion in the same period last year. The free cash flow also jumped to $1.3 billion, from $1.08 billion in the prior-year period. The company’s dividend growth streak spans over 14 years, which makes MCO one of the best Warren Buffett dividend stocks. It offers a per-share dividend of $0.85 every quarter and the stock has a dividend yield of 0.71%, as of September 15.
Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) was included in 59 hedge fund portfolios at the end of Q2 2024, compared with 60 in the previous quarter, according to Insider Monkey’s database. The stakes owned by these hedge funds are collectively valued at nearly $21 billion. TCI Fund Management was one of the company’s leading stakeholders in Q2.
Overall MCO ranks 2nd on our list of the best Warren Buffett dividend stocks to buy. While we acknowledge the potential for MCO as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than MCO but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
