Two Brazilian Plays With ‘Monumental Yields’

The good ole US of A just ain’t the powerhouse it once was. Some overseas economies carry just as much, if not more, weight than we do. So with the dollar getting weaker and growing inflation a very real possibility, investors need to look elsewhere for profits.

That’s why Cramer this week is highlighting the best international companies he can find. But more than that, he wanted firms that paid dividends. He dug up NYSE and Nasdaq-listed stocks with a minimum $1 billion market cap and 3% yield. These names are so important right now, he said, that they could make up as much as 20% of a diversified portfolio.

The first two picks? Brazil’s CPLF Energia and Cemig . Cramer likes the country’s utilities because the demand for power will grow as the economy does. That lends these investments a stability and consistency that other stocks may not. Plus, the currency translation alone means more profits if the American greenback declines in value, regardless of how either business performs.

CPLF Energia is the largest electricity distributor in Brazil, and the company is also one of the lowest-cost producers. New projects on deck for 2010 and 2011 will expand the power-generation business, and that means more growth on top of reduced capital expenditures and higher free cash flow. Best of all, though, CPLF has the money to cover its 6.8% dividend yield. Even if the stock stays flat, shareholders will double their money in 10 years if they reinvest those dividends.

Cemig is a major player in its own right. This government-controlled company is the largest integrated power company in Brazil. And that bureaucratic link isn’t a negative either. Cemig is just about to renegotiate its long-term power-generation contracts at significantly higher prices. That will boost profits and the cash flows used to pay the 5.9% dividend yield. The company already pays out half of its profits to shareholders, and the annual dividend should increase as the profits do.

CPLF Energia and Cemig are “two fabulous Brazilian utilities with monumental yields,” Cramer said. He’d recommend them for any portfolio.

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