Dividend Growers Lead In Total Returns Among Canadian Stocks

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Dividend-paying stocks generally yield better returns than non-dividend payers in the long run. However companies that increase their dividend payments consistently over the years perform even better in terms of total return than dividend payers.

The following chart shows that dividend growers were the best in total returns for the period shown from a Canadian market perspective:

Click to enlarge

Canada Dividend Growers Outperform

Source: Earning Dividend Income Just Makes Sense, AGF Management Limited

Note: The returns shown are based on the domestic market (C$).

Ten Canadian dividend stocks are listed below to consider:

1.Company: Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS)
Current Dividend Yield: 3.65%
Sector: Banking

2.Company: Bank of Montreal (BMO)
Current Dividend Yield: 4.06%
Sector: Banking

3.Company: Royal Bank of Canada (RY)
Current Dividend Yield: 3.77%
Sector: Banking

4.Company: Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD)
Current Dividend Yield: 3.47%
Sector: Banking

5.Company: Suncor Energy Inc. (SU)
Current Dividend Yield: 2.18%
Sector: Oil & Gas

6.Company: Canadian National Railway Co (CNI)
Current Dividend Yield: 1.51%
Sector: Industrials

7.Company: Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNQ)
Current Dividend Yield: 2.02%
Sector: Oil & Gas

8.Company: Enbridge Inc. (ENB)
Current Dividend Yield: 2.70%
Sector: Oil & Gas

9.Company: Manulife Financial Corporation (MFC)
Current Dividend Yield: 2.60%
Sector: Insurance

10.Company: Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. (CP)
Current Dividend Yield: 0.76%
Sector: Industrials

Note: Dividend yields noted above are as of June 6, 2014. Data is known to be accurate from sources used. Please use your own due diligence before making any investment decisions.

Disclosure: Long BNS, BMO, CNI, TD and RY

Germany’s Top Trading Partners In 2013

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In this post let’s take a brief look at the top trading partners of Germany last year.As Europe’s largest economy and an export-oriented economy Germany trades with some of the other major countries.

The chart below shows the top trading partners of Germany:

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Germany Top - Trading Partners 2013

Source: De Statis

Among the top five export destinations, three are in Europe. It is interesting that the U.S. is the second largest importer of German goods and services. The U.S. is also a major exporter of goods and services to Germany.

Russia is one of the major exporters of oil and natural gas to Germany. Hence it appears in the top 10 sources of imports.

The three largest export goods(based on Euros) in 2013 were Motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers, Machinery and equipment and Chemicals and chemical products. The largest import product was Crude petroleum and natural gas.

Related ETFs:

  • iShares MSCI Germany Index Fund (EWG)
  • Market Vectors® Russia ETF (RSX)

Disclosure: No Positions

Ten Foreign Stocks To Consider For Potential Investment

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Thousands of foreign stocks trade on the U.S. market. According to the depository BNY Mellon, currently 386 foreign companies trade on the organized exchanges and 2,388 trade on the OTC markets. With such a wide universe, US investors can cast a wide net to identify potential investment opportunities. Many high-quality large cap multinationals such as Total. Unilever, Nestle, Novartis, etc.  are part of this ADR universe.

Ten foreign stocks from the emerging and developed markets are listed below for further research:

1.Company: Ultrapar Participacoes SA (UGP)
Current Dividend Yield: 2.39%
Sector: Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels
Country: Brazil

2..Company: Banco Santander-Chile (BSAC)
Current Dividend Yield: 3.06%
Sector: Banking
Country: Chile

3.Company: Nordea Bank AB (NRBAY)
Current Dividend Yield: 4.04%
Sector: Banking
Country: Sweden

4.Company: DBS Group Holdings Ltd(DBSDY)
Current Dividend Yield: 3.41%
Sector: Banking
Country: Singapore

5.Company: Novo Nordisk A/S (NVO)
Current Dividend Yield: 1.96%
Sector: Pharmaceuticals
Country: Denmark

6.Company:BASF SE (BASFY)
Current Dividend Yield: 2.36%
Sector: Chemicals
Country: Germany

7.Company:Air Liquide (AIQUY)
Current Dividend Yield: 2.23%
Sector: Chemicals
Country: France

8.Company: Telstra Corp Ltd (TLSYY)
Current Dividend Yield: 5.32%
Sector:Telecom
Country:  Australia

9.Company: National Grid PLC (NGG)
Current Dividend Yield: 4.62%
Sector:Multi-Utilities
Country: UK

10.Company: Autoliv Inc (ALV)
Current Dividend Yield: 2.04%
Sector: Auto Parts
Country: Sweden

Note: Dividend yields noted above are as of May 29, 2014. Data is known to be accurate from sources used. Please use your own due diligence before making any investment decisions.

Disclosure:  Long BSAC

Dividends Boost Stock Returns In The Long Run

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Dividend-paying stocks can implify returns in the long run due to the effect  of compounding. The total return is boosted by reinvesting dividends in addition to any returns due to price aprpeciation. Generally the longer the longer the holding period the higher the return. Stocks that grow dividends yield even higher returns due to the above process.  So investors are better off investing in high-quality dividend payers and growers than simply investing for price appreciation.

The chart below shows the total return and price return of  MSCI All Country World Index over the past 25 years:

Click to enlarge

MSCI All Country-Total vs Price Returns

Source: AGF Global Dividend Fund, AGF Management Limited

The Top 10 stocks from the MSCI World High Dividend Yield Index are listed below for further research and potential investment:

1.Company: Nestle SA (NSRGY)
Current Dividend Yield: 3.08%
Sector: Food Products
Country: Switzerland

2.Company: Novartis AG (NVS)
Current Dividend Yield: 3.06%
Sector: Pharmaceuticals
Country: Switzerland

3.Company: Roche Holding AG (RHHBY)
Current Dividend Yield: 3.01%
Sector: Pharmaceuticals
Country: Switzerland

4.Company: Total SA (TOT)
Current Dividend Yield: 4.68%
Sector: Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels
Country: France

5.Company: Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)
Current Dividend Yield: 2.76%
Sector: Pharmaceuticals
Country: USA

6.Company: Chevron Corp (CVX)
Current Dividend Yield: 3.49%
Sector: Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels
Country: USA

7.Company: Pfizer Inc (PFE)
Current Dividend Yield: 3.51%
Sector: Pharmaceuticals
Country: USA

8.Company: AT&T Inc (T)
Current Dividend Yield: 5.19%
Sector: Telecom
Country: USA

9.Company: Merck & Co Inc (MRK)
Current Dividend Yield: 3.04%
Sector: Pharmaceuticals
Country: USA

10.Company: Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDS.A)
Current Dividend Yield: 4.78%
Sector: Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels
Country: UK

Note: Dividend yields noted above are as of May 29, 2014. Data is known to be accurate from sources used. Please use your own due diligence before making any investment decisions.

Disclosure: No Positions

Ten European Consumer Staples Stocks To Consider

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Stocks in the consumer staples sector offer stability and steady growth. They are especially attractive during turbulent market conditions. As the name implies companies in this sector produce goods that consumers buy regardless of the economic conditions. Household products like toothpaste, food items, cleaning products, hygiene items, shampoo and even beer are good examples of consumer staples. While products such as beer may seem like they are discretionary items, in reality they are consumer staples since people buy beer to enjoy during periods of economic expansions and also buy during recessions to drown their sorrow.

Large-cap European consumer staples companies offer exposure to not only the European market but also to the fast growing emerging markets. Hence investors looking to gain from the emerging market consumption growth can invest in these companies.

In order to identify some consumer staples stocks from Europe I referred to the STOXX® Europe 600 Optimised Consumer Staples index.

The STOXX Europe 600 Optimised Market Quartile indices provide investors with access to companies classified under one of the four peer groups: Consumer Discretionary, Consumer Staples, Cyclicals and Defensives. Based on the STOXX Europe 600 index, companies are evaluated by fundamental factors and allocated to one of four clusters. The index covers companies across 16 European countries: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

Source: STOXX

Ten stocks from  the STOXX® Europe 600 Optimised Consumer Staples index trading on the US markets are listed below for consideration:

1.Company: Unilever PLC (UL)
Current Dividend Yield: 3.29%
Sector: Food Products
Country: UK

2.Company: British American Tobacco PLC (BTI)
Current Dividend Yield: 3.92%
Sector:Tobacco
Country: UK

3.Company: Henkel AG & Co KGaA (HENKY)
Current Dividend Yield: 1.63%
Sector: Household Products
Country: Germany

4.Company: Heineken NV (HEINY)
Current Dividend Yield: 2.07%
Sector:Beverages
Country: The Netherlands

5.Company:SABMiller PLC (SBMRY)
Current Dividend Yield: 2.81%
Sector:Beverages
Country: UK

6.Company: Nestle SA (NSRGY)
Current Dividend Yield: 3.08%
Sector: Food Products
Country: Switzerland

7.Company: Unilever NV (UN)
Current Dividend Yield: 2.91%
Sector: Food Products
Country: UK

8.Company: Reckitt Benckiser Group plc (RBGLY)
Current Dividend Yield: 2.61%
Sector: Household goods
Country: UK

9.Company: Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (BUD)
Current Dividend Yield: 1.92%
Sector:Beverages
Country: Belgium

10.Company: Diageo PLC (DEO)
Current Dividend Yield: 2.50%
Sector: Beverages
Country: UK

Note: Dividend yields noted above are as of May 29, 2014. Data is known to be accurate from sources used. Please use your own due diligence before making any investment decisions.

Disclosure: Long HENKY, RBGLY