To go looking for an attractive dividend outside of Spain, you have to think about the exchange rate. If investors forget this factor -- even though the euro is losing strength against the dollar -- there are three more big payouts from the top 50 euro zone companies between now and the end of summer. Enel, Vivendi and Saint Gobain will pay between 3% and 5.21% to their shareholders.
Enel, an Italian electric company, is not in peak dividend condition. It ended up paying 0.5 euros per share recently and this year will pay no more than 0.13 euros per share. This amount still gives shareholders a 3% yield on their holdings, and for investors who chase dividends, the interesting thing is that Enel's entire 2014 dividend will be made in one payment on June 26.
For Enel shareholders, the critical thing is that the company has promised to boost its dividend next year given that they are far from the 5% that EDF and Iberdrola are paying. "In the next five years we will continue with our strategy focused on trimming debts and building savings," said Enel CEO Fulvio Conti. "We hope to increase our dividend starting in 2015," he added.
Still, the highest recent dividend will come from Vivendi. Following several key divestments, including getting rid of SFR, Vivendi is expected to gain around 5 billion euros in cash. It hopes to pay around 3.5 billion euros in dividends and share buybacks between this year and next.
Therefore, the operator will unveil a 1 euro per share dividend in its next shareholder meeting. It will pay half of this amount with 2013 earnings and the rest with revenues from selling shares. The payout will happen on June 30 and at 5.21% will be better than people thought.
On July 4, just four days later, the French company Saint Gobain is expected to pay a dividend at 1.24 euros per share, which is the same amount as last year. This is a 2.9% yield for investors.
But the real surprise will come next year. After three straight years of changing its dividend policy, the market consensus from Bloomberg says that Saint Gobain will increase its payout by nearly 5% to 1.3 euros per share. This is good news for shareholders.
