We recently released a list 25 cheap dividend stocks are targets for short sellers. In this article, we will explore the position of SL Green Realty Corp. (NYSE:SLG) with other cheap dividend stocks.
Short sellers (investors who profit from falling stock prices) surged in 2025. Their paper profits were $159 million due to six deals as escalating trade tensions triggered a drop of more than 10% in the U.S. stock market. The sharp decline has been the steepest market decline since 2022 after President Donald Trump announced widespread global tariffs. According to S3 Partners LLC, the most profitable short-term position during this period was targeting spy ETFs that track the S&P index. Traders betting on the fund have exceeded $6.1 billion in paper earnings so far this month, according to S3's April 8 report.
Short sellers can profit from huge intraday market volatility that drain trillions of dollars in value, although their actual gains depend on when they close their positions. S3 data showed that new $46 billion in new short bets were added in April, which increased the risk that these bearish positions could exacerbate the market’s next major move, especially if the current downturn reverses and pushes the major index higher. Ihor Dusaniwsky, Managing Director of S3 Predictive Analytics, posted the following comments:
“In general, short-term trade is a profitable trade up and down the market during this correction period. 81% of each short-term trade is profitable, and 97% of the short-term trade is profitable trade.”
Another report from the S&P Dow Jones Index noted that the average short rate of U.S. stocks rose to 87 basis points in the past month. The biggest jump was observed in the automotive industry, which climbed 11 basis points, followed by 10 basis points in the business and professional services sectors, while the food and beverage sector base rose by 9 basis points.
Although dividend payment stocks are generally more stable than growth stocks, they have remained short-selling throughout history. In a 1998 study Who is trading outside the world around the day?Jennifer Lynch Koski and John T. They suggest that safe dealers may shorten the stock, which still includes dividends and then buy back after the current date if they want the stock to fall more than the dividend amount.
Similarly, in their research papers Tax-induced transactionsJosef Lakonishok and Theo Vermaelen observed unusual sales, soon after. They found that such activity is often more pronounced in stocks that offer higher dividend yields. Their findings suggest that short sellers aim to minimize typical price declines that often follow external dates.
The REIT company logo is located in the foreground, offering wide-angle views of the high-rise office property.
In this article, we screened its dividend stocks using data from Yahoo Finance recorded on April 15, which sold for more than 3%. From this group, we have selected stocks above dividend yield from this group starting April 28, as of April 28. Companies that offer high dividend yields often attract the attention of short sellers. These stocks are ranked in their short percentage ascending order.
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Short percentage of floating point numbers as of April 15: 11.81%
As of April 28: 5.73% dividend yield
SL Green Realty Corp. (NYSE: SLG) is a U.S. real estate investment trust company and is the largest office landlord in Manhattan. As of March 31, the company owned 55 properties with a total area of 30.8 million square feet. The portfolio includes 27.2 million square feet of Manhattan real estate and 2.8 million square feet associated with debt, preferred stock investment.
SL Green Realty Corp. (NYSE:SLG) has faced challenges in recent years as the pandemic trend of work habits continues to put pressure on the office REIT department. It lowered its monthly dividend by 13% in early 2023, followed by a nearly 8% cut before 2024 begins. However, in December 2024, it announced a 3% increase in dividend growth, which is a moderate improvement but still a positive sign. Although the office market is still somewhat uncertain, it seems that SL Green's most difficult period may be behind it.
In the first quarter of 2025, SL Green Realty Corp. (NYSE:SLG) had revenue of $163 million, showing a 15.2% increase in the same period last year. Revenue exceeded analysts' estimate of $5.3 million. The company's same-store net cash operating income (including SL Green's share of unconsolidated joint ventures) rose 2.4% year-on-year, excluding revenue from termination of leases. As of March 31, Manhattan Real Estate's office occupies 91.8%, including signature rentals that have not yet begun, in line with the company's forecast.
SL Green Realty Corp. (NYSE:SLG) offers a dividend of $0.2575 per share, with a dividend yield of 5.73% as of April 28.
Overall, SLG Ranked 9 On the list of dividend stocks that our short sellers target. Although we acknowledge the potential of SLG as an investment, our belief lies in the belief that certain undervalued dividend stocks have greater hope to provide higher returns and do so in a shorter time frame. If you are looking for more promising undervalued dividend stocks than SLG, but earning 10 times annually, with double-digit earnings growth, please check out our report Dirt cheap dividend stocks.
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Disclosure: None. This article was originally published in Inside monkey.