This article will examine five dividend paying European Telecom companies, with the goal of determining which ones could be good buys for your portfolio.

France Telecom S.A. (FTE) FTE has a market cap of $47.84 billion with a price to earnings ratio of 11.37. The stock has traded in a 52 week range between $15.16 and $24.60. The stock is currently trading around $18. The company reported 2010 revenues of $60 billion compared to revenues of $62.5 billion in 2009. Year 2010 net income was $5.17 billion compared to net income of $4.21 billion in 2009.

One of FTE’s competitors is Bouygues S.A. (BOUYY.PK) a privately held corporation that had revenues of $41 billion in 2010.

FTE is a company that should be of interest to investors that are looking to purchase stock that provides consistent dividend income. The company has been paying dividends since 1998 and has been making bi-annual dividend payments since 2008. In 2011 dividends were paid in June and August. The total paid was $2.02 which would make the yield about 8.9%. FTE’s stock price has gone down by 19.8% over the last 52 weeks. One reason that the stock price has suffered is because of the financial turmoil in Europe, for which there is no end in sight. The company has almost $7 billion in cash and increased its 2011 dividend by 12%. I believe that the company will be able to continue making strong dividend payments. However a high dividend does no good if your capital losses exceed the dividend income. I rate FTE as a hold.

Portugal Telecom SGPS S.A. (PT) PT has a market cap of $6.42 billion with a price to earnings ratio of 0.85%. The stock has traded in a 52 week range of between $6.76 and $15.24. To continue reading, click here