We recently compiled a list of the 10 Best Foreign Stocks With Dividends For Passive Income. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY) stands against the other foreign stocks.

In August, S&P Global Market Intelligence reported that US dividends are set to grow around 5.1% by the close of 2024. In the United States, the energy sector dominated dividend contributions, with pharmaceuticals, financial services, and banks trailing behind. Looking beyond the US, we see similar growth trends in international markets. For example, S&P expects a 3.9% year-over-year recovery in dividends in Canada, resulting in $74.4 billion in dividend payouts for 2024. Interest rate cuts by the Bank of Canada will aid this rebound in dividends. Two-thirds of the overall Canadian dividend distributions are attributed to the financial and energy sectors.

By year-end 2024, European dividends are projected to grow 4.2% year-over-year to $531.5 billion, with the banking and insurance sectors leading the charge and counteracting the weakness in the European transportation, materials, and energy industries. In the Asia-Pacific region, dividend growth is also projected to be strong. Developed markets in the Asia-Pacific – Australia, Japan, Hong Kong SAR, New Zealand, South Korea, and Singapore – are expected to grow their dividends to $370.5 billion by the end of 2024, reflecting a 5.8% year-over-year increase. According to S&P Global, 2024 is the year that Japan will overtake Hong Kong SAR in terms of the highest dividend contributions in the developed Asia-Pacific market, with an expected growth rate of over 10% for the year.

Turning back to Canada, Ryan Bushell, president and portfolio manager at Newhaven Asset Management, joined BNN Bloomberg on February 4 and discussed the Canadian stock market outlook. He commented that the current hostility from the US should be a wake-up call for Canadian policymakers, noting that it is impractical to isolate the US but Canada should have alternative trading partners in case political tensions influence economic decisions. Bushell mentioned that having export options other than oil is crucial and that Canada should look into exporting natural gas and liquefied petroleum gases as well. In terms of investment strategies, the portfolio manager emphasized that sustainable and stable companies make for excellent long-term investments, regardless of who occupies the White House. This includes critical infrastructure companies, which cater to people’s needs rather than wants. He went on to recommend his top stock picks, which were companies with steady dividend policies, high yields, and 40-60% of their revenues coming from the US, to navigate the messy tariffs. Bushnell prefers Canadian energy stocks since these companies are seeking to export to more countries, which will result in higher gains.

Our Methodology 

For this article, we used the Finviz stock screener to filter out dividend stocks listed on US exchanges but headquartered internationally. We focused on picking stocks with a consistent record of paying dividends, offering dividend growth, and being financially stable to steer clear of yield traps. The list below is ranked in the ascending order of Q3 2024 hedge fund sentiment, and dividend yields are mentioned as of February 3.

At Insider Monkey, we are obsessed with the stocks that hedge funds pile into. The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here)

Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY)

Dividend Yield as of February 3: 3.91%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 32

Headquartered in Paris, France, Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY) is a global healthcare company providing therapeutic solutions for diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, rare diseases, oncology, and immunology, alongside established prescription medicines. In January this year, the company shared that it has partnered with Alloy Therapeutics to create a trailblazing central nervous system drug, deploying Alloy’s AntiClastic Antisense platform. This $427 million deal aims to develop a technology meant to cross the blood-brain barrier and tackle RNA-level targets effectively.

In 2024, Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY) worked hard to become primarily a biopharma company, which included selling a dominant stake in Opella, a major company in the over-the-counter and vitamins, minerals, and supplements market. SNY also reported robust double-digit sales growth and successful product launches.

Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY) disclosed a free cash flow of €6 billion in 2024, which was brought down by slashed prices of Lantus in H1 in the US, eliminating receivables, and unfavorable exchange rate impact. The company expects cash flow to rebound in 2025 and 2026. In Q2 2025, Sanofi will also receive billions of euros once the Opella transaction goes through. In 2025, SNY’s share repurchases will reach €5 billion and it will pay €3.92 per share dividend for 2024. Sanofi is a dividend aristocrat, with 30 consecutive years of dividend hikes under its belt, making it one of the best foreign stocks for an income portfolio.

Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management is the leading stakeholder of the company, with 13.35 million shares worth roughly $770 million. Overall, 32 hedge funds were bullish on Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY) at the end of the third quarter of 2024.

Overall SNY ranks 6th on our list of the best foreign stocks with dividends for passive income. While we acknowledge the potential of SNY as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that certain AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than SNY but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.