By any measure this is a tough market for both bulls and bears.While the fundamentals have not improved, today the Dow Jones Index was up a whopping 10.88%. No body knows why the market is so volatile these days. All we can do is look for cheap stocks and add a little to the portfolio when possible and ride out the storm.
Many foreign stocks are cheap at current levels. If an investor has a long-term investment horizon of 5 years or more there are plenty of bargains in this market. Some of them offer excellent yields and are great companies with solid business models. The following are five companies looking attractive at current levels.
1.Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd (CP) is the second largest railroad in Canada and one of the top Class I railroads in North America. CP is down about 50% in the last 52 weeks. The stock has a dividend of 2.69% and the P/E is just 7.48. Today CP announced good Q3 results and reaffirmed the guidance for FY08 EPS.
(Source: Canadian Pacific announces third-quarter results)
CP covers the western provinces of Canada. Until recently CP performed better than its competitor Canadian National (CN). Even if the economy gets worse in the US and Canada, CP will continue to earn decent profits since it transports good like grains, food products, crude oil from the Alberta tar sands,etc.
2.Telecomunicacoes de Sao Paulo S/A-Telesp (TSP) is a fixed-line telecom operator in the State of Sao Pualo in Brazil. About 80% of its customers are residential customers. Telephone is a basic necessity in any country and Brazil is no exception.Most people continue to pay their bill on time. In this angle, TSP is a good bet among Brazilian stocks. TSP pays a 4.99% dividend and has raised the dividend at an annual rate of 25.25% in the past 5 years.
3 .As one of the large oil giants in the world, Petrobras (PBR) of Brazil is a well-run firm with many production platforms. It operates in Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Portugal, the United States, Peru and Turkey, among others. PBR has been unfairly hit in recent months since it is an emerging market play. However I consider this to be a good buying opportunity. Stories like political risk and currency risk are over exaggerated. It is highly unlikely that Brazil will turn into a communist country anytime in the near future. PBR has increase dividend 23% annually and the P/E ratio is 5.69. From a high of $77+ the stock fell to under $20 yesterday and recovered to $22+ today.
4.Eni Spa (E) is a Italy-based integrated oil and gas company. Currently it yields a juicy 9.67% dividend and the stock is down about 49% in the past 52 weeks.Revenue has grown at 21% annually.
5.One of the large banks in Chile is Banco De Chile(BCH). It has branches in New York and Miami in the USA. BCH is down over 52% in the last 52 weeks. BCH pays a dividend of 19.11% . As the second largest emerging market in Latin America next to Brazil, Chilean stocks have been crushed in recent weeks due to fall in commodity prices like copper and the change in investors perception of emerging markets.
Note: Do your own research before making any investment decisions.
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