April options trades and expiration: NUE, NYX, RSG, EMR & more!
This week was April options expiration and I had the following options positions expiring:
- AFLAC (AFL: 49.92 0.00%, yld: 2.24%) – Some April 17.5-strike puts I sold against AFL in March expired out-of-the-money (OTM) for a four-week net return of 9.7%.*
- Cal-Maine Foods (CALM: 30.02 0.00%, yld: 3.15%) – The April 20-strike puts I sold against CALM in mid-March expired OTM for a five-week net return of 6.3%.*
- Emerson Electric (EMR: 49.76 0.00%, yld: 2.69%) – The April 25-strike puts I sold against EMR last month expired OTM for a five-week net return of 4.3%.*
- Nucor (NUE: 39.38 0.00%, yld: 3.63%) – The April 25-strike puts I sold against NUE last September expired OTM for a 6-1/2-month net return of 7.4%.*
- Polaris Industries (PII: 56.31 0.00%, yld: 2.82%) – The April 17.5-strike puts I sold against PII last month expired OTM for a four-week net return of 3.6%.*
- NYSE Euronext (NYX: 29.17 0.00%, yld: 4.11%) – The April 17.5-strike puts I sold against NYX last month expired OTM for a four-week net return of 5.9%.*
I also recently initiated the following new positions:
AFLAC (AFL: 49.92 0.00%, yld: 2.24%) – I recently sold some May 17.5-strike puts against AFL on a dip after it (and the market) continued to show signs of moving higher:
The shares of this health and life insurance provider are in a strong uptrend and so far haven’t shown signs of making a top. However they appear likely to encounter strong resistance in the low to mid $30s, if they get there, so some near-term consolidation – or topping action – might be anticipated. I could take profits on the May put options here, but wouldn’t mind owning the stock down at the $15-$17 level (although the odds of ultimately being put the shares at those levels seem low at this point), so am planning to let the position ride.
Republic Services (RSG: 30.41 0.00%, yld: 2.50%) – I recently sold some May 15-strike puts against RSG on a slight dip as it (and the market in general) continued to show signs of moving higher:
Like the market, the shares of this waste management provider are now substantially off of their March lows (about $15) and remain in a strong uptrend. They are, however, approaching important resistance at the $21-$23 levels, so a near- or intermediate-term top or consolidation of some sort might be anticipated. I wouldn’t mind owning RSG in the mid teens (where it sports a 5% dividend yield) and am planning to let my short puts position ride.
Sysco (SYY: 28.33 0.00%, yld: 3.49%) – I recently sold some May 20-strike puts against SYY as it dipped following a rally to the $24 level:
The shares of this food service products distributor are clearly in a short-term uptrend but present an unclear intermediate-term picture. SYY is one of my long-time watchlist candidates, and I wouldn’t mind owning it at the $20 level or below. Near-term upside resistance is at the $24-$25 level. As with almost all of the other stocks mentioned here, if my current short puts expire out of the money, I’ll look to re-establish the position at the earliest opportunity.
* As always, the return on “cash secured” put sales was based on the premium received from the sale of the options (minus commissions) against the unmargined capital set aside to pay for their possible assignment (i.e., my being put the shares of the stock).
