Value Stocks Drive IDOG Past Broader Market in July

International value stocks fueled a decisive July for the ALPS International Sector Dividend Dogs ETF (IDOG B-). The fund gained 6.14% for the month, according to ALPS Advisors’ July ETF Spotlight report. Developed international equities extended a rally in July, and the STOXX Europe 600 touched a record high on the month’s final trading day.Key Takeaways: IDOG gained 6.14% in July, triple the return of the broader international benchmark. Energy led all sectors with a 19.3% return, while technology was IDOG’s only decliner. IDOG traded at a 40% discount to U.S. stocks in July, with a 4.22% dividend yield. IDOG’s July return outpaced the broader Morningstar Developed Markets ex-North America Index, which gained 2.04%, the report said. The gap shows how the fund’s mix of value and dividend stocks can pull ahead when cyclical sectors lead. That’s a shift from the technology names that usually dominate international benchmarks. July’s backdrop reflected a global economy caught between war and technology, according to the International Monetary Fund. “The global outlook is being shaped by two powerful forces pulling in opposite directions: the lingering effects of the energy shock from the war in the Middle East and a technology-driven investment boom,” said Petya Koeva Brooks, the IMF’s deputy director of research, on July 8, in remarks cited in the ALPS report. Energy led IDOG’s 10 equally weighted sectors, returning 19.3% in July, the most of any sector, ALPS Advisors said. Financials returned 8.4%, materials gained 7.1% and industrials rose 6.9%. Information technology was the fund’s only decliner, falling 1.7%, as cyclical stocks outpaced the artificial intelligence trade. See more: Energy Rally Powers IDOG Higher in July Equinor (EQNR), a 2.21% position in the fund, surged 28.54% in July, according to the report. The Norwegian energy producer posted second-quarter net income of $4.8 billion, up from $1.3 billion a year earlier. It also expanded its 2026 buyback program to $3 billion. Crude oil prices rebounded late in the month on concerns of an extended U.S.-Iran war, helping push all five of IDOG’s energy holdings up at least 15%.Value Discount Widens for IDOG's HoldingsIDOG traded at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 12.21 as of July 31, the report showed. That’s a 40% discount to the MSCI USA Index and a 23% discount to the MSCI EAFE Index. The fund’s trailing 12-month dividend yield stood at 4.22%. That’s more than four times the MSCI USA Index’s 0.99% yield and above the MSCI EAFE Index’s 3.13%. Sector weights stayed tightly bunched at IDOG in July, with just 1.91 percentage points separating the largest and smallest as of July 31. Financials were the largest at 10.89% and information technology the smallest at 8.98%, ALPS Advisors noted. Gains extended beyond energy. Nippon Steel Corp., IDOG’s top holding, gained nearly 24% after raising its full-year profit outlook, with its newly acquired U.S. Steel unit now the primary earnings driver. Vodafone Group (VOD) rose 19.96% on a return to growth in Germany, its largest market. Daimler Truck Holding returned more than 16.7% as North American truck volumes rebounded from tariff-depressed levels, per the report. Capgemini gained more than 17% after raising its full-year growth outlook on AI-driven enterprise demand, according to ALPS Advisors. That signals that AI monetization is reaching beyond high-growth tech stocks and into the value-priced dividend payers that IDOG holds. For more news, information, and analysis, visit the ETF Building Blocks Content Hub. VettaFi LLC (“VettaFi”) is the index provider for IDOG, for which it receives an index licensing fee. However, IDOG is not issued, sponsored, endorsed, or sold by VettaFi, and VettaFi has no obligation or liability in connection with the issuance, administration, marketing, or trading of IDOG.