How To YieldBoost MCO To 5.3% Using Options

Shareholders of Moody’s Corp. (Symbol: MCO) looking to boost their income beyond the stock’s 0.7% annualized dividend yield can sell the December 2025 covered call at the $560 strike and collect the premium based on the $22.30 bid, which annualizes to an additional 4.6% rate of return against the current stock price (at Stock Options Channel we call this the YieldBoost), for a total of 5.3% annualized rate in the scenario where the stock is not called away. Any upside above $560 would be lost if the stock rises there and is called away, but MCO shares would have to climb 14.8% from current levels for that to occur, meaning that in the scenario where the stock is called, the shareholder has earned a 19.4% return from this trading level, in addition to any dividends collected before the stock was called.

In general, dividend amounts are not always predictable and tend to follow the ups and downs of profitability at each company. In the case of Moody’s Corp., looking at the dividend history chart for MCO below can help in judging whether the most recent dividend is likely to continue, and in turn whether it is a reasonable expectation to expect a 0.7% annualized dividend yield.

Below is a chart showing MCO’s trailing twelve month trading history, with the $560 strike highlighted in red:

The chart above, and the stock’s historical volatility, can be a helpful guide in combination with fundamental analysis to judge whether selling the December 2025 covered call at the $560 strike gives good reward for the risk of having given away the upside beyond $560. (Do most options expire worthless? This and six other common options myths debunked). We calculate the trailing twelve month volatility for Moody’s Corp. (considering the last 251 trading day closing values as well as today’s price of $487.01) to be 20%. For other call options contract ideas at the various different available expirations, visit the MCO Stock Options page of StockOptionsChannel.com.

In mid-afternoon trading on Wednesday, the put volume among S&P 500 components was 917,141 contracts, with call volume at 2.30M, for a put:call ratio of 0.40 so far for the day. Compared to the long-term median put:call ratio of .65, that represents very high call volume relative to puts; in other words, buyers are preferring calls in options trading so far today.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.