A few months ago, I had put together a list of the top international stocks that did prove to be very popular. I believe very strongly in adding international stocks to any dividend portfolio. That does not however require opening accounts in foreign countries and trying to trade in all kinds of exotic currencies. In fact, most of the largest companies around the world, no matter where they are based, do hhave their stocks trading on US markets. Some are only available through pink sheets which is a whole other story. In most cases though, companies such as Credit Suisse (CS), France Telecom (FTE), GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Vodafone (VOD) which we reviewed recently are very easy to trade in the US.
Another option of course is to add US based stocks that have a large portion of their activity outside of the country, such as Aflac (AFL) which I picked as part of the stock picking competition and also recently added to the Ultimate Sustainable Dividend Portfolio.
One important aspect about adding international dividend payers is that in some countries, companies end up waiting to see their yearly results to pay out dividends. This practice has benefits and downsides:
Benefits:
-strong dividends in general as companies do not feel the pressure that dividend aristocrats feel for example
-management incentives to maximize profits (and thus dividends)
-healthier for the company as it pays what it can afford to pay
Downsides:
-Less reliable (these companies can reduce their payouts at any moment)
So today, I wanted to present, among the group of foreign based stocks that I follow, those that pay out the top dividend yield. Let’s start off that way:
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Clearly, as I say every month, having the top dividend yield is not enough. In fact, it’s rarely a good sign:) So let’s dig a bit deeper. I took all of those names and looked for companies that have increased dividends and sales by 5% or more annually over 5 years with a dividend yield of 5% or more. Then, I removed companies that have a payout ratio over 75%. Guess how many names I have left? Just 5:)
[table “389” not found /]
What are your thougghts on these? I will certainly take a deeper look but I thought it was quite interesting:)
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[…] 1. Top International Dividend Stocks – April 2012 @ IS. […]
So you wouldn’t buy FTE? I’m chasing high dividends.
Re you question on retirement preparation…I’m long retired so now I’m just playing around with my assets trying my acumen/expertise in keeping/making money to avoid any catastrophies that may pop up; as your scenario with AOL did to you. I do like your dividend listing but especially with your recognition that over ~27% payout makes it too risky thereby reducing it to the five. Also, I use FINVIZ website to screen:a)+7% Dividend Yield and b)Strong Buy-Analyst Recommendations. Thanks for your website!
YPF has been nationalized by the government of Argentina. Absolutely, the divident yield is not everything.
@Stephen – I did not look too much into FTE but having a payout ratio of nearly 100% does not sound very promising no…
Stephen, I know of no ETF, that offers yields as high as those listed by, IS..
You sure about the payout ratio on France Telecom? My numbers say FCF of 2,32 EUR and a dividend of 1,4 EUR, and they might lower it.
[…] Speculator presents Top International Dividend Stocks – April 2012 posted at Intelligent Speculator, saying, “What are the top dividend […]