Rating of the most profitable stocks by dividends. Highest stock dividends Highest stock dividends

Dividends! Do we argue? would you refuse to have a large block of shares, for example, Gazprom or Sberbank, and live without grieve on the dividends you receive all your life? Oh dreams, dreams. But still, you can buy yourself a small piece of a large company (one or more). There is nothing difficult in this. And receive annually money to your account in the form of dividend payments.

For people who have never encountered this topic, many questions immediately arise:

• How much money do you need and where do you need to turn to buy shares?
• How to find out how much companies pay and which are the most profitable?
• What profit can you expect and where do dividends go?

This article contains some of the most popular questions about dividends.

What are dividends in simple words

Dividends can be viewed as a piece of the profits of the company whose shares are owned by the investor.

The amount of remuneration paid depends on financial results. If a profit was made, then part is directed to the development of the company, and part to the payment of dividends.

The total payout is divided by the number of shares outstanding. And it turns out a certain amount of earnings per share.

For example:

• According to the charter, Gazprom is obliged to pay 10% of the profits received. In fact, they pay more. In 2017, 45% of the profit was allocated to dividend payments.
• Lukoil pays 25%. But strive every year to increase this figure.
• The Moscow Exchange deducts as much as 70% of profits for dividends.
• Sberbank deducts 20-25% for dividends.

There are companies with a very complex dividend policy. And it is very difficult for a novice investor to understand it.

Norilsk Nickel - Dividend Policy
Severstal - dividend policy

If we draw an analogy with ordinary life, then shareholders who own blocks of shares and regularly receive dividends can be compared to people who rent out real estate.

For example measures, you have an apartment that you rent. You get 20,000 rubles a month for it.

From this amount, you give part for paying utility bills, part for paying taxes. Perhaps send something for current repairs. If you have a loan (mortgage) - you will have to spend money on payments. Well, the rest is your net profit (dividends).

Now imagine that you own not one, but 30 apartments and you rent them all out.

Then the resulting net profit can be disposed of a little differently. Buy another apartment (for your own or on credit), that is, expand your business.

Eventually: the final balance of net income will decrease significantly. This part can be considered dividend income.

Where to buy shares to receive dividends?

The shares are traded on the stock market. In Russia, it is MICEX (Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange).

You can't buy shares directly. First you need to conclude an agreement with.

A broker is an intermediary acting between you and the exchange.

After the conclusion of the contract, the broker gives access to the stock market. And you can make transactions of purchase and sale.

In our case, buy shares that pay dividends.

The whole process is very similar to the procedure for interacting with a bank:

1. You sign an agreement.
2. Deposit money into your account.
3. Get access to the exchange.
4. You buy shares.

Do all companies pay dividends?

I won't say everything right now. There are companies that do not pay dividends to their shareholders.

A reasonable question immediately arises: Why then are they needed? Where is the benefit?

A small educational program.

Investor profit can be formed in two ways:

1. Receiving dividends.
2. Growth in value over time of purchased shares.

The first point is clear. The company annually pays a portion of its profits to its shareholders. Everyone is content and happy.

But besides this, all companies invest profits in expanding their activities and businesses. Due to this, the value of the company (capitalization) begins to increase over time. Sometimes even several times. And since a share is a part of the company, we observe an increase in quotes for them.

By paying money to shareholders in the form of dividends, the company allocates less funds for development. And in theory, progress will be slower than for companies that fully invest all profits back into the business.

There is an opinion that high dividends hinder development. Or the management of the company cannot find a better use for money than to pay its shareholders.

Can a company stop paying dividends?

Maybe. There can be many reasons: from a change in the dividend policy, to a “bad” year, or the direction of free cash flow to other higher priority (according to management) goals.

There may also be a sharp decrease in the level of payments, literally at times. In some cases, this is a temporary phenomenon. And in the future, the company is trying to reach the previous level or even surpass it, compensating shareholders for lost profits.

Sberbank dividends

Example. 2014 was a very difficult year for Sberbank financially. As a result, shareholders received only 3% of the company's profit, or 45 kopecks per share (a year earlier it was 3.2 rubles). In 2017, following the results of the previous (2016) period, the dividend payment increased by 13 times!!!

How does the company know who and how much to pay

All data on shareholders is stored in the electronic register. But the problem is that during one trading session, tens of millions of shares are sold and bought. Dozens, hundreds of thousands of shareholders change every day.

Therefore, a date is chosen (known in advance to everyone) or the date of closing the register, on which all shareholders will receive dividends.

It turns out that in order to be entitled to receive dividends, it is enough to be the owner of the shares for only one day.

What is a dividend cut?

This is exactly the closing date of the registry. After the end of the trading session, investors who have shares of the company in the portfolio are entitled to dividends.

But there is one caveat.

As a rule, it is just before the dividend cutoff (a few days before) that quotes begin to rise. Everyone wants to participate in the profit sharing. There is a significant demand for securities. And according to the law of the market, if demand exceeds supply, prices increase.

The day after the dividend cutoff, the value of the stock itself plummets. Usually by the amount of promised dividends.

The company has already fixed the holders and for many who are set up for short-term trading, the shares are no longer of interest.

And you can observe the dividend gap (gap on the chart). Here's how it looks on the example of Severstal.

The company has set a 3.97% dividend yield for shareholders. The next day, quotes collapsed by almost the same amount - 4.05%.

What is a dividend yield?

A certain amount of monetary compensation is paid per share. This is the percentage of the stock's value at the dividend cutoff.

For example, dividend payments per share are 7 rubles. The share costs 100 rubles. We get a dividend yield of 7%.

How much and how often are dividends paid on shares?

In most cases, each company makes payments once a year. Less than 2 times (Alrosa-Nyurba, Gazprom Neft, Moscow Exchange, Norilsk Nickel). There are companies that “pamper” their shareholders with quarterly payments (MMK, NLMK, PhosAgro).

How many dividends does one share bring?

Traditionally, the telecommunications sector boasts a higher dividend rate: MTS, Megafon and Rostelecom - about 7-10%.

Oil and gas, which includes Lukoil, Gazprom and Rosneft, give 6-8% dividend yield.

The financial sector (Sberbank, VTB) is not very generous with payments - only 3-4%.

Utility providers can pay both very good dividends (Rosseti, Unipro, RusHydro - 7-10%), and quite a miser - 1-2%.

Dividend payment calendar

You can find out which stocks bring dividends on the website of any broker (bcs-express.ru/dividednyj-kalendar), or on specialized resources (for example, dohod.ru/ik/analytics/dividend).

Pay attention to the last 2 columns. On the example of the Alrosa company. To be eligible for a reward, you need to buy securities 2 days before the dividend cutoff. This is due to the mode of trading on the stock exchange (T+2). When buying (or selling) shares on the stock exchange, the record of the new owner will be recorded only after 2 days.

How much money do you need to buy shares?

The value of shares on the stock exchange can vary from a few kopecks to tens of thousands of rubles. Usually shares are sold (and bought) in lots.

A lot is the minimum number of company shares required to complete a sale and purchase transaction.

Thus, there is an averaging of a huge spread in the prices of different companies. As a result, the minimum price of one lot is approximately 500 - 1,000 rubles.

• 1 Sberbank paper costs 220 rubles. The minimum lot is 10 shares. The total price of the lot is 2,200 rubles.
• 1 Magnet paper = 1 lot = 6,400 rubles.
• VTB is valued at only about 5 kopecks per share. But to buy it, you need to shell out 500 rubles for a set of 10,000 shares.

Thus, even with only a few tens of thousands on hand, you can purchase several types of shares of various companies.

How do I receive dividends

After the registry is closed, the company usually transfers the due remuneration to its shareholders within a month. The money goes into a brokerage account.

Do I need to pay tax on dividends?

Definitely yes! What is the tax rate on dividends?

All income received from dividend payments is classified as personal income (PIT) or income tax.

The standard tax rate is 13%.

Good news. The state exempted individuals from self-payment of tax.

A broker is a tax agent. And he withholds the due taxes in favor of the budget.

At the time of payment of dividends, part (13%) of the amount received goes to pay taxes.

The investor receives an already tax-free amount in his hands.

So, ordinary investors do not need to bother. Everything will be done for you.

Is it possible not to pay taxes?

In some cases, you can completely or partially avoid taxation.

In the event of a loss.

The taxable base is calculated based on the results of the year. That is, for all the profit received by the investor (which includes the receipt of dividends and transactions for the purchase and sale of securities), 13% must be paid. If there were unsuccessful trades that led to losses, and dividend profits were made, then everything adds up and a net result is displayed.

And it is from him that the tax must be paid. And since the tax has already been withheld from dividend payments in full, at the end of the year the tax base is recalculated. And the overpaid tax is returned back to your account.

Example. During the year, the investor received dividends totaling 100,000 rubles. The broker withheld 13% of the tax or 13 thousand.

At the end of the year, the investor also sold shares with a loss of 100,000 rubles, as a result of a collapse in quotations for previously purchased assets.

Total: net profit for the year is zero. And there is nothing to tax.

But since the broker withheld 13% from the received dividends earlier, he is obliged to return this amount in full back to the investor.

tax incentives

When opening an individual investment account (IIA) of the second type, the investor receives a full exemption from taxes in the amount of 1.2 million rubles.

This is especially true for large players with assets worth several million in their portfolio. Then all the profits received remain in the account.

For small private investors, it is preferable to choose . It allows you to take advantage of a tax deduction of 13%.

In simple terms, every year you can return back 13% of the amount of funds deposited for this period.

If you put 100 thousand on your account, you have the right to return 13,000 rubles, for 200 thousand - 26,000, for 400,000 - 52 thousand rubles.

52 thousand rubles - the maximum amount of tax deduction for IIS per year.

Investing in top stocks is a frequent choice of novice investors: the shares of leading companies may not bring fast and big income, like a startup that has “shot”, but they will give a feeling of stability and confidence in the future. We talk about the TOP-20 Russian stocks in terms of trading volume.

Sberbank

The first place by a wide margin is occupied by the shares of Sberbank, the largest bank in Russia and one of the largest banks in Europe. The share of Sberbank in the total volume of the Russian banking sector at the beginning of 2016 was almost 30%, and almost 40% of all loans taken by Russians were issued by Sberbank. Sberbank's net profit for the first 9 months of 2016 amounted to 229.4 billion rubles.

The stock ticker is SBER. The weighted average share price of Sberbank at the beginning of October 2016 is 147.44 rubles.

Gazprom

The largest Russian company and the largest gas company in the world, the world leader in the industry. At the end of 2011, Gazprom became the most profitable company in the world, according to the Forbes rating. According to the results of the first half of 2016, Gazprom's net profit decreased by 31% compared to the same period last year and amounted to 194.417 billion rubles.

The stock ticker is GAZP. The weighted average share price of Gazprom at the beginning of October 2016 is 134.89 rubles.

Rosneft

Russian oil and gas company, almost 70% of it belongs to the state. The world's largest public company in terms of oil production. The net profit of Rosneft in the first half of 2016 decreased by 4.2 times compared to the same period last year - to 33.9 billion rubles.

The stock ticker is ROSN. The weighted average share price of Rosneft at the beginning of October 2016 is 340.6 rubles.

Lukoil

Russian oil company. At the end of 2014, it became the second company in Russia after Gazprom in terms of revenue. Now the global oil industry is going through difficult times: this also affected Lukoil, whose net profit in the first half of 2016 decreased significantly compared to the same period last year to 54.7 billion rubles.

The stock ticker is LKOH. The weighted average share price of Lukoil at the beginning of October 2016 is 3057 rubles.

Norilsk Nickel

Russian mining and metallurgical company. Norilsk Nickel unites a group of enterprises managed by PJSC Mining and Metallurgical Company Norilsk Nickel. Norilsk Nickel is the world's largest producer of nickel and palladium. According to the results of the first half of 2016, the company's net profit amounted to 91 billion rubles.

The stock ticker is GMKN. The weighted average share price of Norilsk Nickel at the beginning of October 2016 is 9481 rubles.

Moscow Exchange

The largest Russian exchange holding. It organizes trading in shares, bonds, derivatives, currencies, money market instruments, precious metals and grain.

The stock ticker is MOEX. The weighted average share price of the Moscow Exchange at the beginning of October 2016 is 122.05 rubles.

ALROSA

A group of diamond mining companies, the world leader in terms of diamond mining. ALROSA mines 95% of all diamonds in Russia, and the company's share in the world diamond production is 25%. One third of ALROSA's shares belongs to the state. ALROSA's net profit in the first half of 2016 amounted to 82.75 billion rubles.

The stock ticker is ALRS. The weighted average share price of ALROSA at the beginning of October 2016 is 88.87 rubles.

Surgutneftegaz

One of the largest Russian oil and gas companies. For many years it has been the industry leader in exploration and production drilling and the commissioning of new production wells. The net loss of Surgutneftegaz for the first half of 2016 amounted to 142 billion rubles. The loss is mainly due to the revaluation of the "dollar pocket".

The stock ticker is SNGS. The weighted average share price of Surgutneftegaz at the beginning of October 2016 is 29.08 rubles.

Magnet

A retail retailer and grocery store chain of the same name. The Magnit network has 9,900 grocery stores in the convenience store format. In addition, the retailer owns the Magnit Family supermarket and the Magnit Cosmetics drogerie. In 2015, the Magnit retailer was included in the list of the 100 most innovative companies in the world according to Forbes. The net profit of Magnit in the first half of 2016 amounted to 26.1 billion rubles.

The stock ticker is MGNT. The weighted average share price of Magnit at the beginning of October 2016 is 10,413 rubles.

RusHydro

An energy company, the owner of most of the country's hydroelectric power plants, one of the largest Russian and the world's third largest hydro-generating company. The net profit of RusHydro in the first half of 2016 amounted to 28.426 billion rubles.

The stock ticker is HYDR. The weighted average share price of RusHydro at the beginning of October 2016 is 0.757 rubles.

Aeroflot

One of the oldest airlines in the world. Leader of Russian civil aviation, national carrier. It has the largest flight control center in Eastern Europe and its own aviation school. Aeroflot's net profit in the first half of 2016 amounted to RUB 8 billion.

The stock ticker is AFLT. The weighted average share price of Aeroflot at the beginning of October 2016 is 123.22 rubles.

Commercial bank with state participation (60.9% owned by the state). The second largest bank in the country in terms of assets and the first in terms of authorized capital. The group includes more than 20 credit and financial companies. The net profit of VTB in the first half of 2016 amounted to 42.270 billion rubles.

The stock ticker is VTBR. The weighted average price of a VTB share at the beginning of October 2016 is 0.07048 rubles.

Surgnftgz-p (preferred shares)

These are preferred shares of Surgutneftegaz. Prefs of Surgutneftegaz are a classic dividend chip in our market.

The stock ticker is SNGSP. The weighted average share price at the beginning of October 2016 is RUB 28,635.

Severstal

One of the world's largest steel and mining companies. The company consists of the Severstal Russian Steel and Severstal Resources divisions. In the first half of 2016, Severstal received 40.912 billion rubles of net profit.

The stock ticker is CHMF. The weighted average share price of Severstal at the beginning of October 2016 is 790.2 rubles.

Novatek

The gas company is the second largest producer of natural gas in Russia in terms of production. Third among public companies in the world in terms of proven gas reserves. The world's sixth public company in terms of gas production. The net profit of Novatek in the first half of 2016 amounted to 91.02 billion rubles.

The stock ticker is NVTK. The weighted average share price of Novatek at the beginning of October 2016 is 663 rubles.

Telecommunications company providing services in Russia and CIS countries. Provides cellular communication services, wired telephone services, broadband Internet access, mobile television, cable television, satellite television, digital television, etc. MTS is recognized as the most expensive telecommunications brand in Russia, and is also among the ten most expensive global telecom brands. The profit of MTS in the first half of 2016 amounted to 90.398 billion rubles.

The stock ticker is MTSS. The weighted average share price of MTS at the beginning of October 2016 is 228.05 rubles.

InterRAO

Energy company managing assets in Russia. Fields of activity - production and sale of electric and thermal energy, international energy trading, engineering, design and construction of energy facilities. One of the largest electric power companies in Russia by market capitalization. The company's net profit in the first half of 2016 amounted to 36.3 billion rubles.

The stock ticker is IRAO. The weighted average price of an InterRAO share at the beginning of October 2016 is RUB 3,201.

Transneft

Transport monopoly, operator of Russia's main oil pipelines. The company transports 93% of all Russian oil. Transneft and its subsidiaries operate the world's largest oil pipeline system. The company's net profit in the first half of 2016 amounted to 9.9 billion rubles.

The stock ticker is TRNFP. The weighted average share price of Transneft at the beginning of October 2016 is 134,700 rubles.

Sberbank-p (preferred shares)

These are preferred shares of Sberbank. The dividend yield on preferred shares of Sberbank exceeds similar dividends for ordinary shares.

The stock ticker is SBERP. The weighted average share price of the company at the beginning of October 2016 is 107.95 rubles.

Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works. One of the largest in the CIS and the largest metallurgical plant in Russia. It is one of the largest steel producers in the world. Net profit for the first half of 2016 increased by 1.25 times, to 45.16 billion rubles.

Summer sale in the markets is not a reason to panic. Take a closer look at companies whose owners need money - they can pay generous dividends. The fashion for paying dividends has appeared in Russia relatively recently, and there are several reasons for this.

First, the business of Russian companies has become more mature. The most large-scale investment projects have already been completed, the company has occupied a certain market share and has nowhere to grow, and there are no attractive acquisition targets. This is typical, in particular, for the oil and gas and telecommunications sectors. In this case, the company usually prefers to redistribute free cash among the owners, especially if the minority shareholders have a small share.

Secondly, increased political risks encourage Russian businessmen to withdraw free funds abroad. In a situation where a business can change ownership at any time, few people risk keeping money on their balance sheet for a long time, perhaps only Surgutneftegaz. The rest prefer to send funds to foreign jurisdictions, and neither the crisis in Cyprus nor Switzerland's intentions to disclose information about depositors to the Russian authorities can shake this love. At the same time, the payment of dividends is one of the easiest ways to withdraw money from the country. Everything is legal and taxes are low.

Thirdly, the Russian budget is beginning to crack at the seams even with high oil prices, which encourages officials to look for new sources of income. In this regard, dividends in state-owned companies, such as Gazprom or Transneft, are likely to grow.

If five years ago the dividend yield of Russian shares did not exceed 1-2%, now we are talking about 4-5%, and in many cases even higher. At the same time, Russian stocks remain among the cheapest in the world, especially after the summer sale, when many papers returned to last year's lows and even earlier levels.

However, investors should be careful and buy first of all the shares of companies whose main owners themselves need money. This category includes, for example, mobile operators MTS and Vimpelcom - being part of large holdings (AFK Sistema and Alfa Group, respectively), they, as a rule, act as cash cows for transactions in other industries. In addition, both companies intend to pay interim dividends, which means that the next payments may take place as early as the fourth quarter of this year.

Another good example is the German E.ON, one of the few companies that manages to make money from the electric power industry in Russia, and all the profits of the Russian subsidiary, E.ON Russia, are paid in the form of dividends, as required by the parent company. Minority shareholders of Norilsk Nickel are also expected to receive high payments - the size of dividends is guaranteed by a recent agreement between the largest owners of the company, Roman Abramovich, Vladimir Potanin and Oleg Deripaska.

There is also Gazprom Neft (the main owner is Gazprom, which is always in need of money, the share of minority shareholders is insignificant) and preferred shares of Surgutneftegaz, where the size of dividends is guaranteed by the charter, and a significant dollar cash on the balance sheet makes the company's profits resistant to external shocks.

Which companies should be avoided? First of all, those whose owners may change in the near future. The history of the purchase of TNK-BP by Rosneft shows that the new owner sometimes has his own views on dividend policy. Therefore, it is worth, for example, to avoid Bashneft - Rosneft can absorb it. Also at risk are companies with a high level of debt or very cheap, but at the same time, securities that are in a clear “bear market” (for example, Gazprom).

With the participation of the director of the analytical department Sergey Fundobny

With the right investment strategy, dividends will “drip” to you constantly

Photo: Fotolia/aleciccotelli

The stock market for many novice investors seems to be something like a game, the essence of which is to buy paper as cheap as possible and sell it for more after a while. However, you can earn not only on the growth of securities quotes, but also on dividends.

Quotes vs Dividends

Dividends are the share of profits that a company distributes to its shareholders. If you bought a share of a company on the stock exchange, you automatically become its shareholder and are entitled to a portion of the profits. On the dividend payout date, the money should be in your brokerage account. Dividend payments can be made once a year, every half year or quarterly.

The amount of dividends depends on the profit that the company received on a certain date: for example, at the end of the year. Depending on its dividend policy, a company may allocate a different share of its net profit to shareholders. And this can be specifically spelled out in its charter. Or the amount of payments is discussed at a meeting of shareholders. But the amount of dividends does not depend on how stock quotes change on the stock exchange. On the contrary, a change in the dividend policy can lead to a fall in shares.

The main plus in the dividend trading strategy is the ability to receive a stable income by forming a portfolio of securities of various companies. An investor may not constantly monitor market indices and stock quotes: it is enough for him to understand how much he will receive on a certain date. Therefore, the main indicator of the effectiveness of such a strategy is the dividend yield. It shows how much the investor will receive per share.

Another advantage of the dividend strategy is that in the moments of a market fall, the dividend yield can compensate for the investor's losses due to a decrease in quotes. Sergey Suverov, head of the analytical department at BC Savings Management Company, says that dividends can add up to 10% to the value of shares. “If we take the shares of such issuers as Norilsk Nickel, Aeroflot or RusHydro, then their dividend yield fluctuates at the level of 9-11% per annum. When the market falls, the income that an investor receives from dividend payments is able to amortize losses by reducing the value of shares,” he notes.

According to Vadim Bit-Avragim, Senior Portfolio Manager at Kapital Management Company, the risks of the dividend strategy lie in the fact that most Russian stocks depend on commodity prices and their cash flows are focused on the commodity sector and are very cyclical. “Because of this, many companies cannot maintain high cash flows when commodity prices decline,” he explains. Therefore, the manager recommends choosing companies that, even in the face of sharp fluctuations in commodity prices, can maintain stable payments.

How to earn

The essence of dividend trading is to collect a portfolio of securities of companies that pay high dividends and regularly buy additional shares. Reinvestment allows you to constantly increase your capital and at the same time increase the volume of dividends received every year. The papers of companies that pay dividends quarterly are most suitable for such conservative tactics. In this case, the quotes of securities may hardly change.

The only question is when to buy and when to sell securities of companies whose payments you are counting on. After all, it is clear that if a share was bought for 200 rubles, then with the same amount of payments, its dividend yield will be higher than if you bought it, say, for 220 rubles.

When the market falls, the income that an investor receives from dividend payments is able to amortize losses by reducing the value of shares.

You can find out about the date of fixing the register in advance and buy the company's shares based on dividends. But usually stock prices jump as soon as the company approves the amount of dividends. Therefore, it is better to buy shares in advance. Aleksey Pavlov, chief specialist of the Otkritie Broker market analysis department, recommends buying paper after the next cut-off (after payments to shareholders, its price may decrease) and “sit” in it until the next dividend cut-off. “Over this period, the stock can grow significantly higher than the dividend income itself,” he says. However, this works if the company makes payments once a year, and does not spread it over the year in the form of interim payments.

What other factors, besides dividend yield, should an investor consider when choosing a company? Vladimir Vedeneev, Head of the Investment Department at Raiffeisen Capital Management Company, points out that a high dividend yield does not always unequivocally indicate the attractiveness of a company: for example, the market may be wrong about the possibilities for paying dividends, or these payments are one-time and are unlikely to be repeated in the foreseeable future.

Therefore, analysts recommend paying attention to the stability of the company's financial performance. And also monitor how stable the company pays dividends and how liquid the shares are on the stock exchange. “The latter is important because low-liquid stocks can show a lot of volatility in times of crisis in the market,” points out BCS's Suverov. The stability of payments can be judged if the amount of dividends and their frequency are prescribed in the company's charter. “There are quite a lot of such issuers in Russia: for example, Rosseti, Surgutneftegaz, Lenenergo,” says Alexey Pavlov. The advantage is that the investor can predict the size of future payments.

Another criterion is stock quotes that need to be monitored, especially after the registry closes. Vadim Bit-Avrahim notes that after the payment of dividends, shares most often fall by the amount of the dividend paid. However, sometimes the drop in quotes can be significant: for example, Nizhnekamskneftekhim shares have fallen in price by 40% since the beginning of the year amid falling profits and news that the company will not pay dividends. “In such a situation, it is better for an investor to sell securities as soon as possible,” Suverov advises. Usually there is time for this - a fall in stocks can last more than one day. But selling securities at a time when quotes have already reached the bottom, according to him, is not worth it: perhaps it is better not to record a loss, but to wait for the next dividend cycle.

Which companies to choose

The easiest way for a novice investor is to build a portfolio of dividend stocks from companies included in the MICEX index. Their list is published by the Moscow Exchange, now it includes 50 issuers. The advantage of this approach is that you invest in the securities of the most liquid and large companies. According to Semyon Nemtsov, senior analyst at IC Russ-Invest, the expected dividend yield of the MICEX index for 2017 is 5.4% per annum. This means that by investing in shares of companies that are included in the index, in the same proportion in which these companies represent the index, you can expect a corresponding return. “However, there are a number of companies on the market that pay higher dividends,” Nemtsov points out.

Companies that pay high dividends are more likely to generate high free cash flow. On average, over a five-year horizon, the dividend portfolio in Russia, according to Bit-Avragim, could bring about 10% annually.

Among the most attractive securities in terms of dividend yield, financiers name the shares of companies in the metallurgical and oil and gas sectors, as well as mobile operators. Aton Senior Analyst Mikhail Ganelin recommends paying attention to the shares of such issuers as Severstal, NLMK, Norilsk Nickel, MTS, Unipro, which pay high dividends. Companies send all free cash flow to dividends, and this situation, according to Pavlov from Otkritie Broker, is typical for many companies that already have a stable market share. “The company is moving from a growth model to a different business model: it no longer needs to build new warehouses, make large investments in new equipment. She has a stable income, so she directs all available funds to pay shareholders, ”explains Pavlov. As an example, the financier cites the MTS operator: according to the company, since 2010 it has paid shareholders more than 235 billion rubles in annual dividends with an average annual growth rate of 12%. At the same time, the annual volume of payments increased by 69%.

Forecast of dividend yield of the largest Russian companies

Company	Promotion type	Expected dividend yield, %	Share price, rub.
AFK Sistema
Aeroflot
Bashneft
Bashneft
VSMPO-AVISMA
Gazprom Neft
MMC Norilsk Nickel
InterRAO			3,4
Moscow Exchange
Mostotrest
Mosenergo
IDGC of Volga
Raspadskaya
Rosneft
Rostelecom
Rostelecom
RusHydro
Sberbank
Sberbank
Severstal
Surgutneftegaz
Surgutneftegaz
Tatneft
Tatneft
Transneft

"Aton" 06.04.2018 12:06

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Dividend season begins in Russia. Aton experts analyzed the stock market in search of the nearest most attractive dividend stories. In addition, analysts assessed how stocks of companies that paid dividends after the date of the registry closing have performed in past periods, and how quickly they have recovered from the cutoff.

Aton experts note that investors' interest in dividend stories is constantly growing. This is especially evident against the backdrop of declining yields on other financial instruments in Russia, including bonds and bank deposits.

Surprisingly, the Russian stock market is still ignoring the fact that the spread between stock dividend yields and returns on other instruments is widening. This situation cannot last for long, and Russian dividend stocks will be significantly overvalued by the market up, also reflecting the decline in yields and cost of capital.

Which companies offer the highest dividend yield duringnext three months? In April-June, Russian companies will recommend, approve and pay annual and interim dividends for 2017. In most cases, the boards of directors of companies have not yet had time to recommend dividends, experts expect with a relatively high degree of confidence the highest dividend yield from Enel Russia (9.3%), Rostelecom (ordinary shares - 8%, preferred shares - 8.6%), FGC (7.2 %), Globaltrans (6.5%), Aeroflot (6.4%), Alrosa (5.8%) and Gazprom (5.7%).

Among the speculative dividend ideas for which there are no guarantees, experts draw investors' attention to Bashneft preferred shares, which can provide a dividend yield of 4-23% depending on the payout ratio (25-50% under IFRS) and net profit, and Mechel preferred shares ( 11.5%), if creditor banks agree to their payment.

However, quotes of both companies can collapse in a few minutes if they do not meet the expectations of investors. A good example is Raspadskaya, which shed 10% in one day after the board voted against the dividend in April.

Which companies offer the highest dividend yield over the next 12 months? Most dividend-oriented companies pay them quarterly or semi-annually. This improves their corporate governance and smooths out post-dividend stock volatility. Globaltrans tops the list of our most compelling dividend stories with an annual dividend yield of over 12%, on a bi-annual basis.

Shares in the metals and mining sector are also among the most attractive, offering annual dividend yields ranging from 8% (Nornickel) to 11% (Severstal). Another dividend segment is state-owned companies (Rostelecom, Aeroflot, FSK, Gazprom, Alrosa), which traditionally pay fairly high dividends
once a year.

Which companies offer the highest dividend yield over the next 3 years? Many Russian companies have adopted a long-term dividend policy linked to their cash flows or net income, which makes it possible to forecast long-term dividend payouts. Here, companies with strong EPS growth and a growing dividend payout ratio are of the greatest interest.

In addition to most of the companies mentioned above, here Aton also notes the preferred shares of Sberbank, which plans to increase the payout ratio in the coming years to 50%. Analysts believe that VTB, TCS Group and Mechel's preferred shares could be a pleasant surprise in the long term.

How quickly do companies recover after the cutoff date? The experts analyzed how quickly stocks of dividend-paying companies recover after the registry closing date, taking as a basis for analyzing their dividend payments for the previous three periods. On average, it takes about 15 days to recover from a cutoff.

For example, shares of companies in the metallurgical sector that pay dividends 2-4 times a year recover within the next 5-15 days, Sberbank recovers within 20 days, while MTS and Lukoil may take more than 30 days to recover.

Analysts also analyzed which stocks have fallen less than their post-cut dividend yield in the past.