Stock price when the opinion was issued
Oslo exchange. Likes the business mix that they have. In terms of Europe, it is based on the Norwegian economy. Have a lot of activities in emerging markets such as Malaysia, Thailand and Russia. Also, have a foray into India but that may be coming to an end. This leads to pretty decent growth prospects. Solid dividend, which he thinks will grow. A- credit rating.
Among the European telcos, this Norwegian one is the most attractive. When you are looking at any utility, one of the most important things is what is the outlook for the whole market and this is the incumbent in Norway and has the most attractive economic profile in Europe. Also, has a very nice business through Southeast Asia, and as those assets start to mature, they are going turn from being very much a drag on profitability to a significant contributor to profitability. Yield of 4.47%.
(A Top Pick Jan 28/14. Up 20.86%.) The only European telco that he owns. Pre the oil price crash, Norway was the best performing economy in Europe. Also, half of its business is in faster growing areas such as India. Nice yield of about 7.5% in kroners.