Foreign Utilities List with Current Yields

Posted by on

During bear markets utility stocks used to be provide shelter for investors since they were considered to be stable, slow-growth and conservative investments. However that has changed in the past few years. These days they do not seem to offer the much-desired stability and protection that they were once known for. This is evident in the current market as well.

Year-to-date the S&P 500 is down 38.96% and the Utilities sub-sector within the index is down 29.82%. Though this is less than the S&P 500, the sector is still down around 30% for the year – which is very high for this sector. On the other hand, the best performing sector consumer-stables is down only 17.02%. On the global level, the SPDR SP International Utilities Sector ETF (IPU), started in July of this year, has a negative return of 29.09% year-to-date.

Overall though utilities have lost their former glory, they must still be an integral part of a well-diversified portfolio. Usually utilities have high yields and are long-term value plays. Some of the foreign utilities have attractive yields and are worth looking into at current levels. The following table lists all these utility stocks with their current yields:

[TABLE=125]

Note: All data is as of Nov 28 closing prices.

Half of the listed above are from Latin America. The dividends offered by the Brazilian utilities vary wildly over months. Just three companies from Europe are represented here because some of the European utilities such as E.ON (EONGY) of Germany now trade on the OTC market.

It must be noted however that many of the stocks mentioned above have fallen over 50% so far this year. So some of the current high yields may not offer consolation for investors who bought the stocks earlier at higher prices. However new investors can use the table as a starting point to do further research into the above global utility stocks.

Disclosure: Long VE

Nine Nordic ADR Stocks

Posted by on

The Nordic countries include Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway and Iceland in Northern Europe. These are called as Nordic countries because they share a common history, cultural and political systems. Scandinavia is sometimes used as a synonym for Nordic countries.

Except Iceland, the other four countries have some of their company stocks listed in the US as ADRs. The following table lists these nine ADRs:

[TABLE=10]

1. Denmark-based shipping company Dampskibsselskabet Torm (TRMD) was a top performing shipping sector stock until recently. Its vessels transport oil, iron ore and other commodities.TORM pays a dividend of 8.02% and the P/E is 1.0. The annual dividend growth over the past 5 years is 58%. After announcing earnings on Nov 21, the company announced that a special shareholder meeting is being called to approve an interim dividend of DKK 4.50 per share. TORM share price fell heavily in recent months as the Baltic Dry Index- which is an index that measures the cost to move goods between places plunged.

2. Novo Nordisk A/S (NVO) is a Denmark-based healthcare company specializing in diabetes care and diabetes products. NVO has a yield of 1.84% and a P/E of 22.81. year-to-date the stock is down only about 20% since healthcare related stocks have held up pretty well in this market. The company is expanding in emerging markets like China where it is setting up a plant. Earnings have grown at 17% annually in the last 5 years.

3.The world famous Nokia (NOK) is a finnish telecom equipment maker. The company makes some of the cheapest and most efficient cell phones and markets around the world. They are especially popular in the developing countries. The current yield is 5.89% and the P/E is 6.85. Due to the current credit crisis and tough competition Nokia announced on November 27 that they will stop selling phones in Japan.4. The OTC listed,UPM-Kymmene(UPMKY) is a paper producer in Finland. The stock is down about 27% year-to-date. P/E is 24.22 and the yield is 8.14%.

5.Acergy SA (ACGY) is a seabed-to-surface engineering and construction contractor that mainly manufactures equipments and services needed by the offshore oil and gas industry. It pays a dividend of 3.67% and the P/E is 5.80. As the price of crude oil fell over 50% in the past few months, oil related stocks including Acergy fell hard. Year-to-date ACGY is down 73.96%.

6.StatoilHydro(STO) is a Norway-based integrated oil and gas producer.It used to be called Statoil ASA. After the merger with Norsk Hydro the company changed its name to Statoil Hydro. Total revenues increased annually 16.5% in the last 5 years. STO currently yields 4.80%

7.Telenor(TELNY) is a mobile telecom services provider in Norway.As the stock price fell over 77% so far this year, the dividend yield has increased to 12.47%. Annual earnings growth in the past 5 years is 42%.

8.Sweden-based Ericcson (ERIC) is an telecom equipment maker. ERIC is down 39% year-to-date. The current yield is 5.92%. Ericsson used to be a high-flying stock during the late 90s but has been mostly flat in the last 5 years.

9.Volvo AB(VOLVY) is a world-class auto and truck manufacturer. In October overall sales fell 12% year-over-year. But truck sales fell a whopping 99.7% as the company took order for just 115 trucks compared to 41,970 in the third quarter of 2007. The current yield is 20.81% and the P/E is 4.78%.

Weekend Links #1

Posted by on

The following are links to some interesting articles that you can checkout over this weekend:

1. Why The Dollar Is Getting Stronger – From Speigle Online by By Stanley Reed

2. Can the Footsie end 2008 above 4000? – By Philip Scott, This is Money

3. Finance, the American way – By The Mogambo Guru at Asia Times

4. German Auto Industry Facing the Abyss – ‘WORST CRISIS SINCE WORLD WAR II’ – By Dietmar Hawranek from Speigle Online

5. Which way now? – From The Banker

6. The Financial Times – Black Friday sales suggest longer stay in red

7. CAUGHT IN THE CRUNCH – LATIN AMERICA – By Antonio Guerrero, Global Finance

ABN AMRO Holding NV ADR Terminated

Posted by on

ABn Amro

ABN AMRO ADR, which used to traded on the OTC market with ticker ABNYY, has been terminated effective yesterday November 24,2008.

In April of this year ABN Amro de-listed its stock from New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) since a consortium of banks led by Fortis (Holland), Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS -UK) and Banco Santander (STD – Spain) announced a deal to acquire ABN Amro.

Yesterday ABNYY closed at $50.25 on a volume 11,727 shares. ABN Amro’s 52-week high was $62.80.

As per the termination notice issued yesterday by the depository JPMorgan, each ADS (American Depository Shares) shareholder will receive $50.4089 per share.

Original Notice of Termination and Net Proceeds Announcement:
“JPMorgan announces it has received notice from ABN AMRO, terminating the Deposit Agreement (the “Deposit Agreement”) governing the ABN AMRO American Depositary Receipt (“ADR”) program. Such termination shall take effect thirty days from the date hereof. Effective immediately the transfer books of JPMorgan, as depositary under the Deposit Agreement, are closed for all purposes.

As a result of the squeeze-out transfer of all ordinary shares of the Company, including those represented by outstanding American Depositary Shares (ADSs), JPMorgan has received payment of EUR 40.029320 (EUR 37.88 + EUR 2.14932 (accrued interest)) per share for the securities underlying the ADSs of ABN AMRO issued under the Deposit Agreement. The proceeds were converted into US dollars and, as a result thereof, permit a distribution at a net rate of $50.4089 per ADS (after deduction of the expenses permitted under the Deposit Agreement). Hereafter, each ADS represents the right to a holder’s pro rata share in the net proceeds of $50.4089 per ADS. ABN AMRO has agreed to pay any cancellation fees owing in connection with the surrender of outstanding ADSs.”

Source: JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Founded in 1824, ABN Amro is now owned by RFS Holdings B.V. which is the consortium of Royal Bank of Scotland Group, Fortis Bank and Banco Santander. The group paid 70B Euros in October last year to take over ABN Amro.

Largest Companies Traded on the New York Stock Exchange

Posted by on

The S&P 500 Index is down an incredible 45.52% year-to-date this year. The Financials within the index are down even more. The fall in stock prices have wiped out trillions of dollars in shareholder wealth. Last month the British Economist Fred Harrison, widely known as the “Prophet of Doom”, predicted that “”The massive contraction in demand caused by this ‘wealth effect’ will condemn the western economy to a decade-long depression,” and added that US$45 Trillion Global Wealth will be wiped-Out.

Considering the current situation in the equity markets world-wide, have you wondered how many companies that are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) have market capitalization of more than $100B now? I did and ran the stock screener to find out.

Companies with Market Cap. of > $100B:

[TABLE=124]

Note: All data is based on Nov 21 closing prices.

Analysis:

  • Only 16 companies in NYSE have market cap. of > $100B.
  • USA leads the list with 10 companies.
  • Due to high oil prices in the past six of the top integrated oil firms have made it to this list.
  • Exxon Mobile (XOM) is the largest company with a market of $384.0 B.
  • None of the US financials are in this list since their stocks have fallen dramatically in the past few months.
  • HBC of UK is the only financial that seems to weathered this credit crisis better than others.
  • CitiBank (C),which had a market cap. of $123.0 B, back in April and made it to Forbes’ “The Global 2000” list, now has is worth only $20.0B.
  • GE had a market cap of $330.0B in April compared to just $139.0B now.
  • Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) is a major drugs maker with a multitude of products in its portfolio.
  • As the current recession worsens, WalMart (WMT) will have higher revenue as folks look for cheaper products.

With about six weeks to go in 2008, it will be interesting to see how this list changes by the end of the year.