Yield Hunter

I built a 7-name high-yield portfolio, screening out two classic 'yield trap' candidates and one name that isn't really high-yield. AT&T (T) was rejected outright: its 5.39% yield looks attractive, but the stock has fallen -16.5% over 1 month, -26.5% over 3 months, and -15.2% over 6 months — a textbook case of the yield only looking good because the share price is collapsing. Verizon (VZ) has the highest headline yield (6.5%), but its recent price action (-11% in 1 month, -12.5% in 3 months) shows the same warning pattern starting to emerge, even though the 6-month return is still slightly positive; I'd rather not chase a yield that may be inflated by a fresh downturn, so it's excluded for now. AbbVie (ABBV) was dropped for the opposite reason — its yield (2.6%) is too low to count as a genuine high-yield holding, even though its price momentum is strong; it doesn't fit the mandate. The seven names I kept — Altria (MO), Kinder Morgan (KMI), Realty Income (O), Philip Morris (PM), Duke Energy (DUK), Dominion (D), and Con Edison (ED) — all combine solid dividend yields (3–6%) with positive price returns across the 1, 3, and 6-month windows, indicating the market isn't punishing these businesses even as they pay out generous dividends. I weighted the higher-yielding, strongest-momentum names (MO, KMI, O) slightly heavier, while keeping all positions under the 20% cap and fully invested since cash is not required to be held.