Unilever PLC (UL)

(A Top Pick Jan 7/14. Up 3.11%.) Still likes it. A long-term secular play on consumer spending and emerging markets. About 55% of their revenues are from emerging markets. Last year was a difficult time for a lot of the economies as they were going through a cyclical slow down. They are still seeing basic growth, but not as strong as it was before. Meanwhile in the developed markets, they were seeing very weak growth coming out of Europe. It was lacklustre out of the US as well. They have good products. They are restructuring and focusing on brands. You’re still getting a good dividend of about 3.5%. As we roll into 2015, the comparables get easier and you are seeing stronger growth coming out of the US, and hopefully there will be recovery out of Europe.

Stock vs. Stock. MDLZ-O vs. UL-N. Consumer products. Prefers this to MDLZ-O. Went international very early on. But now they are improving with international purchasing, etc. This one should outperform MDLZ-O. They have not rationalized their large product range. Rationalizing could be the opportunity for growth.

(A Top Pick Jan 7/14. Up 7.62%.) Emerging-market exposure long-term is positive. Emerging-market weakness has been a headwind this year. Emerging-market is slowing, but has still been a 5%-6% growth. In developed markets, things have been quite dire, particularly in Europe, and even in the US earlier on this year. She still likes it as she is focusing on the long-term story. Company has been restructuring parts of their portfolio and focusing more on personal care. Pays an attractive yield of about 3.8%. They increase their dividend fairly regularly.

It is a serial dividend increaser and the balance sheet is incredible. They are on sale because of their exposure to the emerging markets. Prefers to PG-N. This will do well over the long term.

Great company. Fundamentals stack up well. Had a bit of headwind on its earnings because of foreign exchange. Free cash flow growth, quarter after quarter, in a very stable business. Anything below $40 looks very interesting. The opportunity here is to buy it at a lower PE multiple compared to some of its peer group.

On his radar as a potential investment. It has a big emerging market exposure that has been weak lately, but it spells potential to him.

A very good company. Feels they over expanded into places like Asia with the hope that they would actually deliver huge growth for them. That has not happened, which has really hurt them. They have to cut back on the actual number of products that they have. Margins have been squeezed over the last little while.

This is one of those big yielding stocks. It’s international. Stock has been dropping and if you can’t take the pain, put a Stop on it. This should go with the market and the market should be better in the winter time.

This is the play on the emerging middle class. 57%-58% of their sales are in emerging/frontier markets. The 3^rd biggest consumer products company globally. Because of this, it is able to grow its top line 5%-7%. CEO is getting rid of the smaller brands in order to concentrate on the million-dollar brands. This is one that you Buy, stick it in your bottom drawer, and take it out in 5 years. You will have done very well. Reasonable yield of about 3.5%.

Nice dividend of 3.5%, but like a lot of other consumer staples names, it is pretty richly valued, especially given its history. Feels Procter & Gamble (PG-N) is a bit cheaper. Better yet, he would look at CVS Health (CVS-N). (See Top Picks)

(A Top Pick Sept 10/13. Up 15.66%.) Likes this more for the emerging market growth. About 57% of revenues come from emerging markets. Even though the stock has done relatively well, it has actually lagged this rally because of their emerging market exposure. Likes the secular long-term trend. Management has repositioned the company by decreasing their food exposure and increasing their personal care, which has higher margins. Provides a yield of about 3.8%. If you don’t own, you could start picking at it here.

Outside North America this is what you grow up on. Emerging markets have slowed and developed markets have recovered. This is a dividend increasing story. They buy back shares as well. 3.7% dividend.

(Top Pick Aug 16/13, Up 13.07%) It has underperformed somewhat. It is her only large cap consumer stables company. Emerging market demand has weakened. Their organic growth abroad is slowing. However they are maintaining their margins. This is the time to buy it.

Chart shows a consolidation from April to August, followed by a breakout at around $43. 1^st resistance would be $46. From there he will watch it carefully and if it keeps going, will continue to own it.

This is in the category of a long-term, core holding for a lot of global fund managers. A 20 year chart for this company looks like an escalator. Return is about 12% per year. About 55% of the business comes from emerging markets, and management is looking to grow that more and more over time. Has a collection of very strong brands with over 400 brands in their portfolio, and 25 of them are equal to 70% of sales. Nice dividend yield of 3.8%.