ADRUniverse.com

Sydney Opera House

The Australian Stock Market Index,”ALL ORDINARIES INDEX” has crashed in the past few weeks in-line with other markets of the world. Year-to-date “Bank of New York Mellon Australia ADR Index”, which tracks the Australian ADRs listed in the US, is down 54.94%.

1-Year Chart of Australian All Ordinaries Index

On the currency front, the Aussie Dollar has fallen a whopping 37% against the US $ since reaching a peak of $0.9849 to the US$ about 3 months ago.London’s Financial Times calls the Australian Dollar the “whipping boy” of foreign exchange markets (Source:World gives Aussie dollar a walloping).

From a article titled “When will the Australian sharemarket recover?” by Nicolette Rubinsztein, here is a table of the major downturns in Australia since 1987:

Against the backdrop of all the above events,US investors are wondering whether now is the good time to pick up some Aussie stocks available here as ADRs. We do not know when the market will recover worldwide. Despite being a surplus country Australia got hit pretty bad just like all other countries in this credit crunch. However there are some high quality dividend yielding stocks that will survive this downturn and come back strong when the dust settles.

The following are six Australian stocks that have excellent dividend yields now. While its not a good idea to jump in with both feet into these stocks just for the dividends it must be noted that further erosion in stock prices is possible. An investor with a well diversified portfolio may want to monitor these stocks and add a little when desired.

Austrlian Stocks with Excellent Yields now (as of Oct 24,2008):

1. Alumina - AWC
Dividend Yield: 12.86%

2.BHP Billiton Ltd - BHP
Dividend Yield: 5.28%

3.SIMS Group Ltd - SMS
Dividend Yield: 9.95%

4.Westpac Banking Corp - WBK
Dividend Yield: 9.58%

5.National Australia Bank Ltd - NABZY
Dividend Yield: 12.69%

6.Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd - ANZBY
Dividend Yield: 11.60%

The last two are traded on the OTC markets.

Other Related Links:
Australian ADR Stocks List !!

Dividend Gems - ADRs !!!

Top Banks of the World available as ADRs

Top Canadian Dividend Stocks available as ADRs

Top 10 European Utilities available as ADRs

written by admin

 

A review about 3 Australian bank stocks that pay great dividends and have above average dividend growth rates.In the current market conditions nobody knows exactly where financials and in general the markets are heading. A simple and effective strategy now maybe to nibble a few foreign stocks that pay high dividends. One group that fits this idea are the Australian bank stocks.

All these 3 banks trade as ADRs in the US but only one (WBK) is listed in the New York Stock Exchange. The other 2 trade in the OTC markets. Here is a brief overview of these bank stocks:

1.Company Name: Westpac Banking Corp
Ticker: WBK
Country: Australia
Dividend Yield : 6.85%
Annual Dividend Growth for past 5-years: 13.35%

2.Company Name: National Australia Bank Ltd
Ticker: NABZY
Country: Australia
Dividend Yield : 11.32%
Annual Dividend Growth for past 5-years: 4.35%

3.Company Name: Australia & New Zealand Banking Grp Ltd
Ticker: ANZBY
Country: Australia
Dividend Yield : 9.08%
Annual Dividend Growth for past 5-years: 11.36%

Just like Canada,Brazil,Russia,etc. Australia is also a commodity-driven economy. So any volatility in that sector will affect Aussie stocks heavily. However compared to mining stocks, banks may not be battered that much. Besides Aussie banks have high exposure to New Zealand and many other Asian markets and nearby Pacific islands.

Photo: Sydney Opera House, Australia

written by admin

St. George Bank Ltd. (STGKY) of Australia agreed to the takeover proposal of Westpac Banking Corp.(WBK) today.This is the biggest banking takeover  in Australia.

St.George is the fifth largest bank in Australia. Its ADR trades in the OTC market with ticker STGKY. Today the stock closed at $50.30. Westpac is paying US $ 14.4B for St.Geroge. Under the terms of the deal, “St. George’s shareholders will receive an additional special dividend of 28 Australian cents per share (23 U.S. cents), worth A$160 million ($133 million) in total. Westpac is offering 1.31 of its shares for every St. George share.”

On August 11th, St.George posted a 12.5% rise in profits in the first 10 months of its financial year and reaffirmed profit numbers for the next year.

Overall this friendly takeover by Westpac is good for St.George’s shareholders. In the long run Westpac will benefit from this takeover as well. It may be a good time to pick up some Westpac shares which trades in New York with ticker WBK.

written by admin