As super-low interest rates drive more income-seeking savers to stocks with hefty dividends, the news last week that venerable J.C. Penney was cutting its 80-cent annual payout hit like a cold slap of reality.

Investors need to know that other high-yielding stocks could follow suit, likely leaving stockholders with both a smaller payout and a battered share price. And there are signs to watch for, experts say.

A company is likely to cut its dividend if it thinks there will be issues paying the dividend in the future, says Todd Rosenbluth, equity analyst at S&P Capital IQ. If a company is struggling to make a profit or has taken on significant debt, it may cut its payout to keep more cash in-house.

Look at a company's dividend-to-earnings ratio. If a dividend is more than 70% of the company's per-share earnings, that could be a warning sign, says Mr. Rosenbluth.

Also, if the dividend yield (the dividend as a percentage of share price) is well above average, says Josh Peters, editor of Morningstar's DividendInvestor newsletter, it may mean other investors are selling the stock in anticipation of a dividend cut.

"Right now, dividend cuts are pretty rare," says Mr. Peters. But there are a few stocks he thinks might cut their payouts soon: retailer RadioShack, office-equipment company Pitney Bowes and Frontier Communications, which already cut its dividend once this year.

RadioShack and Pitney Bowes say they have no plans to cut their dividends. Frontier declined to elaborate on any future dividend cut.