Investing at a time of high interest rates and macroeconomic uncertainty — is no mean feat. The uncertainty has led Morgan Stanley to reiterate its recommendation to buy dividend stocks. The investment bank noted that the MSCI Asia Pacific ex-Japan High Dividend Index has slightly underperformed the MSCI Asia Pacific ex-Japan index in the second quarter of the year, albeit by only 0.34 percentage points. However, the analysts see more potential going forward. “Market is currently pricing a peak rate environment while volatility in UST [U.S. Treasury] bond yields and Asia/EM market continued to favor Quality and Dividend stocks to outperform,” Morgan Stanley’s analysts wrote in a July 8 research note. “We still prefer Dividend stocks given cautious risk sentiment in Asia/EM and see support in valuations for quality dividend stocks due to their defensiveness. Investor appetite on corporate reform and shareholder return theme in Asia/EM also remain high, which are likely to benefit dividend stocks.” For the Asia-Pacific ex-Japan region, the Wall Street bank produced a screen of what it called its “conviction list” of dividend stocks, using these criteria on a 12-month forward-looking basis: Likely to outperform the MSCI Asia Pacific ex-Japan High Dividend Index; Least likely to announce dividend cuts; Low risk of having dividend cuts, as rated by industry analysts; Market cap of over $2 billion. Here are 10 overweight-rated stocks that appeared on Morgan Stanley’s screen: A number of the stocks on the list are China-based, including Wuliangye Yibin Company. The company provides distillery services and Morgan Stanley sees it benefitting from “improving demand for high-end products and mid-market brands.” This, the analysts added, “supports sales growth, offsetting the decline in core products owing to supply cuts.” Shares of Wuliangye Yibin are traded on China’s Shenzhen Stock Exchange and in the Pacer CSOP FTSE China A50 ETF (3.4% weight). Morgan Stanley has a 12-month target price of 182 Chinese yuan ($25.01) on the stock, giving it around 43.8% potential upside. Another stock that stands out on the list is South Korean tobacco and ginseng manufacturer KT & G. Morgan Stanley has a target price of 112,000 Korean Won ($80.93) on the stock implying just over 30% upside. “Domestic earnings are becoming more balanced, while overseas tobacco sales could rapidly grow from regional and product expansion on the NGP [next generation products] side. Dividend payout ratio remains around 60% with over 30% payout for the share repurchase program,” analysts at the bank wrote. Shares of KT & G are listed on the Korea Exchange and as an American Depository Receipt in the U.S. — CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to this report.
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