Harvey Jones says the pound may be the clear winner in the ugly contest, but you might find something to admire if you hold shares in BHP Billiton plc (LON:BLT), Royal Dutch Shell Plc (LON:RDSB) and Unilever plc (LON:ULVR).
It's official, sterling is now the world's ugliest currency. If the British pound was a person, it would lock itself indoors for shame. But this could be an opportunity for UK investors, because a handful of FTSE 100 stocks pay their dividends in dollars and euros, which are looking a lot more attractive right now. Does this make these stocks a beautiful investment?
BHP Billiton
With the pound falling to an eight-month low against the greenback, who wouldn't want to receive their income in dollars right now? If you invest in mining giant BHP Billiton (LSE: BLT), that's exactly what you get. It currently yields 3.4%, safely covered 2.9 times, and generously paid in greenbacks, which means your income is worth 3% more year-to-date. With some analysts suggesting the pound could fall by anything up to 20% in 2013, there could be a lot more to follow. Better still, because BHP Billiton is listed on the FTSE 100, you are buying with pounds, and getting dollars in return. Now that is beautiful.
I can see plenty of other reasons to buy this globally diversified miner. BHP Billiton's strategy is to invest in large, long-life, low-cost, expandable, upstream assets, spread across different commodities regions and markets. This makes it a diversified and relatively defensive stock (for a miner). I wouldn't call it low risk, though. It remains a play on global growth in general, and Chinese growth in particular, both of which remain shaky. The recent bull run has left BHP Billiton looking more expensive than it was, with the share price of 23% since last June to £21. But it has dipped slightly, tracking metals prices lower. A little more slippage, and you might find the perfect time to serve yourself a dollop of dollar dividends.
Royal Dutch Shell
Investors in Anglo-Dutch Royal Dutch Shell (LSE: RDSB) (NYSE: RDS-B.US) were already enjoyed banking its juicy 4.6% yield, but the slump in the value of the pound has made it that little bit tastier. I have been holding this oil and gas giant for years, but recent share price growth has been disappointing. The vertically integrated oil majors don't automatically benefit from high oil prices because they have deliberately reduced their exposure by diversifying into storage, transportation, refining, chemical processing and retailing. I still think Shell has a great long-term future, especially if it is correct in forecasting that global natural gas demand will increase by 60% from 2010 to 2030. With exploration interests as far apart as China, South Africa and Ukraine, Shell has a place in every investor's portfolio. Especially today, when it trades at less than 9 times earnings. Analysts consensus are putting its Q4 profits at £4 billion, a 2.5% increase from £3.9 billion in Q3. Now looks like a good time to buy Shell. After that, you can sit back and let the dollars roll in.
Unilever
Unilever (LSE: ULVR) (NYSE: UL.US) is another Anglo-Dutch success story, and much more loved by markets. This purveyor of everyday household goods has enjoyed almost constant share price growth since the financial crisis, and now it looks that little bit more attractive, once you remember its dividends are paid in euros. That didn't look so clever last year, when the single currency was looking sickly, and even the pound was hanging tough by comparison, but it looks a lot brighter now. Investors today get a yield of 3.8%, but that's worth 8.5% more to UK investors than it was last July, when the pound briefly hit €1.28 (it's now below €1.17). That euro-denominated yield certainly isn't the main reason to invest in Unilever. It is a well-managed company selling popular products such as Flora, Vaseline, PG Tips, Cif, Domestos, Surf and Sunlight, and is now selling them to swathes of emerging-markets consumers. This isn't a get-rich-quick stock -- earnings per share (EPS) growth looks modest at 2% and 8% over the next couple of years, and it trades at around 18 times earnings. But you should get rich slowly, which is possibly even better.
Five more to think about
If you're looking for more great dividend opportunities, you might find them in our special in-depth report "Eight Top Blue Chips Held By Britain's Super Investor".
The report by Motley Fool analysts is completely free and shows where Invesco-Perpetual's dividend dazzler Neil Woodford believes the best high-yield stocks are to be found today. Availability of this report is strictly limited, so please download it now.
> Harvey owns shares in BHP Billiton and Royal Dutch Shell. The Motley Fool has recommended shares in Unilever.
