All Eyes on FIFA World Cup Soccer Games in Brazil: Anyone Looking at Brazil Stocks?

The 2014 FIFA World Cup is the 20th world championship tournament for soccer (referred to as football in most other countries outside the US), which is taking place in Brazil for the next few weeks. The games run from June 12, finishing up on July 13. Think these games should help the Brazilian economy? Then how about Brazil stocks.

Brazil used to be considered the best of the BRICs, with BRIC referring to he four countries with strong growing economies: Brazil, Russia, India, and China. The iShares MCSI Brazil Capped ETF (EWZ) is up three and a half points just in the last week. However, over the last two years, the Standard and Poor's 500 Index has risen well over 40%, whereas the Brazil ETF has a negative return over the same time period. Now might be an interesting opportunity for contrarians.

The nice thing about Brazilian stocks is that there are a couple dozen that trade on US stock exchanges, according to the free list of Brazil stocks at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com. In addition, most of these Brazilian stocks pay dividends. Anyone who has read my previous articles knows that I really like dividend paying stocks. Dividends return your invested capital faster and help to reduce volatility.

One of the highest yielding Brazil stocks is Banco Bradesco (BBD), which pays a generous yield, including special dividends, of 6.8%. As an added bonus, it pays its dividends monthly. This Brazilian bank trades at 1.2 times trailing earnings, slightly better than the industry average price to earnings ratio of 11.3. It has a forward PE ratio of 9.

Bradesco's earnings for the latest quarter were up 18% on a revenue rise of 13%. The company was added to the Zack's Rank #1 Strong Buy List on May 16.

Another Brazilian stock that pays a decent dividend is Telefonica Brasil (VIV), which has a yield of 7.7%. Last year, the company paid out a dividend three times, and so far this year, the company has had three dividend payouts. The stock trades at 15 times trailing earnings, and 13 times forward earnings. Revenues for the latest quarter were up slightly, however earnings dropped 18%.

One Brazil company that is doing very well is Gerdau (GGB), which is in the steel business. The yield is relatively low at 1.9% but the earnings are high. Earnings for the latest quarter were up an amazing 168% on a revenue increase of 15%. The stock trades at 13 times forward earnings and a very favorable  6 times trailing earnings.

There are several other Brazil stocks with good earnings and adequate yields, which can be found at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com. Around 20 of these stocks pay dividends. I'm not sure who is going to win the World Cub, but I think several Brazil stocks will be winners.

Disclosure: Author didn't own any of the above at the time the article was written, but may purchase a Brazil ETF in the next week if prices drop low enough. 

By Stockerblog.com

Stocks Going Ex Dividend the Second Week of June 2012

Here is our latest update on the stock trading technique called 'Buying Dividends'. This is the process of buying stocks before the ex dividend date and selling the stock shortly after the ex date at about the same price, yet still being entitled to the dividend. This technique generally works only in bull markets. In flat or choppy markets, you have to be extremely careful, and may need to avoid the technique during those times.

In order to be entitled to the dividend, you have to buy the stock before the ex-dividend date, and you can't sell the stock until after the ex date. The actual dividend may not be paid for another few weeks. WallStreetNewsNetwork.com has compiled a downloadable and sortable list of the stocks going ex dividend during the next week or two. The list contains many dividend paying companies, all with market caps over $500 million, and yields over 2%. Here are a few examples showing the stock symbol, the market capitalization, the ex-dividend date and the yield.

Avery Dennison Corporation	AVY	$3.1B	6/4/2012	3.7%
Banco Bradesco SA (ADR)	BBD	$27.4B	6/4/2012	4.1%
STMicroelectronics N.V. (ADR)	STM	$4.5B	6/4/2012	7.9%
Cinemark Holdings, Inc.	CNK	$2.7B	6/4/2012	3.6%
BlackRock, Inc.	BLK	$30.8B	6/5/2012	3.5%

Gannett Co., Inc.	GCI	$3.0B	6/6/2012	6.2%
Genuine Parts Company	GPC	$9.7B	6/6/2012	3.2%
Kimberly Clark Corp	KMB	$31.2B	6/6/2012	3.7%
Potlatch Corporation	PCH	$1.2B	6/6/2012	4.3%
Public Service Enterprise Grou	PEG	$15.4B	6/6/2012	4.7%
PPL Corporation	PPL	$16.0B	6/6/2012	5.2%

The additional ex-dividend stocks can be found at wsnn.com. (If you have been to the website before, and the latest link doesn't show up, you may have to empty your cache.) If you like dividend stocks, you should check out the high yield utility stocks and the Monthly Dividend Stocks at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com or WSNN.com.
Dividend definitions:
Declaration date: the day that the company declares that there is going to be an upcoming dividend.

Ex-dividend date: the day on which if you buy the stock, you would not be entitled to that particular dividend; or the first day on which a shareholder can sell the shares and still be entitled to the dividend.



Monthly Dividend Stock List

Record date: the day when you must be on the company's books as a shareholder to receive the dividend. The ex-dividend date is normally set for stocks two business days before the record date.


Payment date: the day on which the dividend payment is actually made, which can be as long at two months after the ex date.

Don't forget to reconfirm the ex-dividend date with the company before implementing this technique.

Disclosure: Author did not own any of the above at the time the article was written.

By Stockerblog.com

Stocks Going Ex Dividend the First Week of March 2012

Here is our latest update on the stock trading technique called 'Buying Dividends'. This is the process of buying stocks before the ex dividend date and selling the stock shortly after the ex date at about the same price, yet still being entitled to the dividend. This technique generally works only in bull markets. In flat or choppy markets, you have to be extremely careful, and may need to avoid the technique during those times.

In order to be entitled to the dividend, you have to buy the stock before the ex-dividend date, and you can't sell the stock until after the ex date. The actual dividend may not be paid for another few weeks. WallStreetNewsNetwork.com has compiled a downloadable and sortable list of the stocks going ex dividend during the next week or two. The list contains many dividend paying companies, all with market caps over $500 million, and yields over 2%. Here are a few examples showing the stock symbol, the market capitalization, the ex-dividend date and the yield.

M&T Bank Corporation (MTB) market cap: $10.4B ex div date: 3/1/2015 yield: 3.42%

Old Republic International Corporation (ORI) market cap: $2.8B ex div date: 3/1/2016 yield: 6.55%

Regal Entertainment Group (RGC) market cap: $2.1B ex div date: 3/1/2017 yield: 6.16%

Banco Bradesco SA ADR (BBD) market cap: $33.8B ex div date: 3/2/2012 yield: 3.33%

The additional ex-dividend stocks can be found at wsnn.com. (If you have been to the website before, and the latest link doesn't show up, you may have to empty your cache.) If you like dividend stocks, you should check out the high yield utility stocks and the Monthly Dividend Stocks at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com or WSNN.com.

Dividend definitions:

Declaration date: the day that the company declares that there is going to be an upcoming dividend.

Ex-dividend date: the day on which if you buy the stock, you would not be entitled to that particular dividend; or the first day on which a shareholder can sell the shares and still be entitled to the dividend.

Monthly Dividend Stock List
Record date: the day when you must be on the company's books as a shareholder to receive the dividend. The ex-dividend date is normally set for stocks two business days before the record date.

Payment date: the day on which the dividend payment is actually made, which can be as long at two months after the ex date.

Don't forget to reconfirm the ex-dividend date with the company before implementing this technique.

Disclosure: Author did not own any of the above at the time the article was written.

By Stockerblog.com

Top Financial Stocks in Brazil

According to the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, Brazil has the largest economy in Latin America, the world's eighth largest economy, and the seventh largest in purchasing power parity. Fortunately for US investors, there are plenty of Brazilian stocks that trade on the New York Stock Exchange. Brazilian financial stocks is a great way to invest in this country.

One popular way to invest in Brazilian stocks and have diversification, is through the Brazil exchange traded fund, iShares MSCI Brazil Index (EWZ), which invests 95% of its assets in stocks, including the financial companies, traded primarily on the Bolsa de Valores de So Paulo. The fund pays a yield of 3.3% based on last year's annual dividend payment and has a one year return of 22.9%.

WallStreetNewsNetwork.com has a list of over 25 Brazilian stocks, several of which are fnancals. One example is Banco Bradesco (BBD), which provides banking and financial services and products to individuals, companies and international corporations around the world. It is the largest insurance and pension provider in Brazil, based on insurance premiums, pensions plan contributions and income from saving plans. With a head office in Osasco, Banco Bradesco has been in existence for over 60 years and is considered the leader in Brazilian lending. Their private sector branch and service network is the largest in Brazil. The company as nearly 3,000 branches across the country and offers services which include Internet banking, insurance, pension plans, annuities, credit card services and free Internet access for customers. In addition to its branches in Brazil, the company has branches in New York, Grand Cayman and Nassau, Luxembourg, Buenos Aires, and Tokyo. The stock trades at 9.5 times forward earnings, and pays a yield of 0.6%.

Itau Unibanco Banco Holding SA (ITUB) is the result of the merger of Banco Itaú and Unibanco, which occurred on November 4, 2008, making it the largest bank in South America. The company also owns Investimentos Itau. The company has approximately 50,000 employees. Banco Itau provides a wide variety services including small business banking, credit cards, retail banking, asset management, and brokerage products. They have about 13 million customers. The stock has a forward price to earnings ratio of 9.5, and a yield of 0.4%.

Gafisa S.A. (GFA) is one way to participate in the Brazilian real estate market. It is one of the largest builders in Brazil, and does about 90% of its business in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The stock has a forward P/E of 6.3.

For other Brazil stocks, a free list is available at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com, which can be downloaded, sorted, and updated.

Disclosure: Author did not own any of the above.

By Stockerblog.com