Short sellers have kept their attack up against the high-dividend stocks, perhaps indicating that many investors believe that the bull market may turn back toward growth rather than paying a higher premium for income. We tracked the short interest changes from the March 15 settlement date over the February 28 settlement date, and we added color on each for some extra depth.

The top dividend stocks we are tracking the short interest in are as follows: Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO), American Electric Power Co. Inc. (NYSE: AEP), Annaly Capital Management Inc. (NYSE: NLY), AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T), Duke Energy Corp. (NYSE: DUK), General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE), Kimberly-Clark Corp. (NYSE: KMB), Kinder Morgan Energy Partners L.P. (NYSE: KMP), Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK), Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG), Reynolds American Inc. (NYSE: RAI) and Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ).

As we have said before, it takes much more conviction to short sell a stock that has a very high dividend. On top of having to pay a broker loan-call rate to borrow the stock, the dividend payouts have to be paid and the ex-dividend dates play into the equation as well. The raw number of increases to decreases here was only by a margin of 7-to-5, but that is misleading. The drops in the short interest were generally very small, while the gains seen here were generally large gains in the short interest.

Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) saw significant boost in the short selling, by almost 26% in just two weeks. The March 15 short interest was 24.55 million, versus 19.5 million at the end of February. What is interesting is that the days to cover fell to 1.34 days from 1.70 days two weeks ago and from 2.35 days a month ago. On a nominal basis this was the fourth consecutive gain in the short interest. Altria’s dividend yield is still 5.2%.

American Electric Power Co. Inc. (NYSE: AEP) saw yet another gain in the short interest, but this gain was a single-digit percentage gain rather than the huge 50% or so gain of the previous period. AEP had 5.18 million shares short, versus 4.78 million shares at the end of February. This was the highest short interest since the end of last October. AEP now yields 3.9%, as the shares have risen 15% or more year-to-date.

Annaly Capital Management Inc. (NYSE: NLY) saw a gain of almost 10% in the short selling activity. The March 15 short interest was 29.39 million shares, versus 26.81 million shares two weeks earlier. Annaly has a current yield of about 11.2%, and its shares are still somewhat in the middle of the 52-week range.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) saw about a 3% rise in the mid-March versus end of February short interest. That sounds small on the surface, but the 93.83 million shares short is yet again another high in the short interest going back a whole year. AT&T’s dividend is about 4.9%, as shares are still close to the highest share price since last fall.

Duke Energy Corp. (NYSE: DUK) saw its short interest post another drop, down to 7.77 million shares short in mid-March, versus 8.6 million shares short at the end of February. That is actually Duke’s smallest short interest of 2013. Duke has a dividend yield of about 4.3%.

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) is the highest yielding of the large conglomerate stocks, with a 3.3% dividend yield. Its short interest rose by almost 10% to 86.94 million shares in mid-March, versus 79.23 million shares short at the end of February. This is actually the highest short interest nominally since the end of last June. Its 2.54 days to cover is also the highest going back to the end of last August.

Kimberly-Clark Corp. (NYSE: KMB) keeps seeing its share price rise to new highs, but it still yields close to 3.4% since it raised its dividend. Short sellers have lowered their efforts here, and the short interest fell handily by 12% over the two-week period to 8.273 million shares short. That broke five increases in a row, and the end of February short interest had been the highest short interest since last July.

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners L.P. (NYSE: KMP) saw a slight gain in the short interest to 2.72 million in mid-March, versus 2.65 million at the end of February. This is still low but was yet another gain in the short selling. Its distribution rate, a yield-equivalent (before tax implications), currently screens out at about 5.9%.

Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) saw a slight drop in the short interest to 26.18 million shares in mid-March, versus 27.79 million shares at the end of February. That is still the second highest reading since last October. Merck’s dividend yield is about 3.9%.

Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) saw a small drop in its short interest to 24.74 million shares from 25.14 million shares. That is still very elevated and the second highest reading going back a full year. P&G’s dividend is currently about 2.9%, as its shares are within 1% of a 52-week high.

Reynolds American Inc. (NYSE: RAI) saw its short interest rise to 10.38 million shares short in mid-March, versus 9.85 million just two weeks earlier. This is the first 10 million reading going back a full year. Reynolds has a yield of about 5.4%.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) is technically a drop in the short interest, but is so small you hardly notice it. The short interest is also still very elevated at the second highest reading of the last year. This was 60.96 million shares short, versus 61.21 million shares short two weeks earlier. Verizon yields 4.2% now that shares are basically at 52-week highs.

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