AstraZeneca is a pharmaceutical group formed by the merger in April 1999 of the Swedish Astra AB and the British Zeneca PLC. The acquisition of Zeneca, previously belonging to the Imperial Chemical Industries Pharma group, by Astra was made possible by the success of omeprazole, indicated mainly in the treatment of gastric ulcers. AstraZeneca has approximately 63,000 employees worldwide, which are engaged in the research, development, manufacturing, sale of pharmaceutical products and in the provision of services for medical care.
AstraZeneca is one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies. The broad product portfolio includes some of the world's most successful medicines. Among other blockbusters, AstraZeneca produces Crestor, against cholesterol, and the ubiquitous “purple pill” Nexium, against heartburn, one of the best-selling drugs in historyBut AstraZeneca faces serious challenges in the future, because despite substantial R&D spending, the pipeline of promising products is thin.
The company offers a long term performance particularly generous 5.83%. The current yield is even 8,80%! The distributions have been increased for nine consecutive years and have grown at a very decent annual rate of 12,28%. Despite these impressive figures, the distribution rate remains very cautious, at 42.95%. Volatility, on the other hand, remains more than affordable, with only 10.90%. The beta of 0.59 indicates that the stock is not very sensitive to market variations.
The Price/Earnings ratio of only 6.73 is consistent with the high dividend yield and confirms the very attractive valuation of the title. Despite outperforming the market since 1993, this ratio has never stopped falling since 1999.
There is no downside, AZN is sensitive to variations in the dollar, a fall in the latter generally being accompanied by a fall in the value in CHF ($risk=0.46)
A generous yield, good dividend growth, a prudent distribution ratio and an attractive valuation from an earnings perspective... Astrazeneca undeniably has interesting qualities for an investor looking for a investment that is both lucrative from an income perspective, while offering good prospects for long-term price growth and distributions.
However, given the relative youth of the successive dividend increases, I currently consider the stock "only" as a position to watch. I am probably erring on the side of caution, but my strategy imposes certain safeguards that protect me not only against market risks, but also against my own emotions...
Sources: Wikipedia, Wikinvest, Yahoo Finance, Swissquote, dividends.ch
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Since the title is listed in London, is it not less sensitive to the CHF/GBP parity?
That's an excellent point. In fact, the stock I'm following is listed on the NYSE, for reasons of convenience in accessing the data. But if you look at the sensitivity of the stock listed in London to GBP/CHF, it is similar, even if the losses in CHF in the end over five years are less, with 38%, against 45% for the US stock.
Good morning
On the CAC 40, there are interesting stocks to put in your portfolio: Air Liquide and GDF Suez
the reasons:
ludovic
Thank you for your input.