How Successful Investors Get RICH

Learn everything you need to know in 'The Canadian Guide on How to Invest in Stocks Successfully' for FREE from The Successful Investor.

How to Invest In Stocks Guide: Find 10 factors that make your investments safer and stronger.

 I consent to receiving information from The Successful Investor via email. I understand I can unsubscribe from these updates at any time.

Topic: How To Invest

MANULIFE FINANCIAL $22.70 – Toronto symbol MFC

MANULIFE FINANCIAL $22.70 (Toronto symbol MFC; Shares outstanding: 2.0 billion; Market cap: $45.4 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 3.0%; www.manulife.ca) sells life and other forms of insurance, as well as mutual funds and investment management services.

In the three months ended March 31, 2015, Manulife’s earnings per share gained 5.4%, to $0.39 from $0.37 a year earlier. Revenue rose 25.1%, to $7.83 billion from $6.26 billion.

The company continues to expand in growing Asian markets. Right now, about 40% of its insurance premiums come from that region, which is adding to its revenue and profits.

Manulife ended the latest quarter with $821.3 billion of assets under management, up 29.4% from $635.0 billion a year earlier. A large part of the increase came from U.K.-based Standard Life’s Canadian insurance operations, which Manulife bought for $4.0 billion in late 2014.

To expand its Manulife Bank subsidiary, the company plans to install 830 ATMs in Mac’s, Circle K and Couche-Tard convenience stores across Canada. (The owner of these chains, Alimentation Couche-Tard, is a recommendation of our Stock Pickers Digest newsletter.) Manulife Bank has over $22 billion in assets.

The stock trades at just 12.5 times its forecast 2015 earnings of $1.82 a share. Manulife raised its quarterly dividend by 5.6% with the June 2015 payment, to $0.17 from $0.155. It yields 3.0%.

Manulife is a buy.

Comments

Tell Us What YOU Think

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Please be respectful with your comments and help us keep this an area that everyone can enjoy. If you believe a comment is abusive or otherwise violates our Terms of Use, please click here to report it to the administrator.