Single-digit tickers = single-digit returns? – Bespoke

Could it be possible that single-digit tickers mean single-digit returns?

This is what Bespoke Investments is speculating.

The investment group pointed out that stocks that have single-digit tickers may tend to yield lower returns.

On average, the following basket of “alphabet” stocks posted a total return of 4.67% so far this year, well behind the S&P 500’s (SP500) 18.9% gain.

Also, over a period of three years, single-letter tickers are up 3.1%, compared to 30.4% for the S&P 500 (SP500).

“Unfortunately, it looks like single-letter tickers equals single-digit returns,” analysts at Bespoke said. “It would likely be a much different story if any of the mega-caps had single-letter tickers!”

When it comes to dividends, all but four of the 21 single-letter ticker basket pay a dividend. Their average yield is 2.79% — higher than the S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) at 1.22%.

All 11 sectors are represented, and 21 of the 26 alphabet letters are represented:

• Agilent Tech (A) – Dividend yield: 0.67; three-year total return: -17.20
• Barnes Group (B) – Dividend yield: 1.59; three-year total return: -13.44
• Citigroup (C) – Dividend yield: 3.63; three-year total return: -4.79
• Dominion Energy (D) – Dividend yield: 4.77; three-year total return: -18.23
• Eni S.p.A ADR (E) – Dividend yield: 6.64; three-year total return: 63.59
• Ford Motor (F) – Dividend yield: 5.39; three-year total return: 1.22
• Genpact (G) – Dividend yield: 1.55; three-year total return: -21.06
• Hyatt Hotels (H) – Dividend yield: 0.40; three-year total return: 100.62
• No ticker for I
• Jacobs Solutions (J) – Dividend yield: 0.77; three-year total return: 12.89
• Kellanova (K) – Dividend yield: 2.82; three-year total return: 51.81
• Loews (L) – Dividend yield: 0.31; three-year total return: 44.39
• Macy’s (M) – Dividend yield: 4.52; three-year total return: -25.95
• No ticker for N
• Realty (O) – Dividend yield: 5.08; three-year total return: 4.02
• No ticker for P
• No ticker for Q
• Ryder System (R) – Dividend yield: 2.31; three-year total return: 86.91
• SentinelOne (S) – Dividend yield: No dividend yield; three-year total return: -61.86
• AT&T (T) – Dividend yield: 5.65; three-year total return: 16.78
• Unity Software (U) – Dividend yield: No dividend yield; three-year total return: -86.02
• Visa (V) – Dividend yield: 0.77; three-year total return: 19.06
• Wayfair (W) – Dividend yield: No dividend yield; three-year total return: -85.04
• US Steel (X) – Dividend yield: 0.53; three-year total return: 40.54
• No ticker for Y
• Zillow (Z) – Dividend yield: No dividend yield; three-year total return: -42.24