POWER CORP. $29.88 (Toronto symbol POW; Shares outstanding: 411.4 million; Market cap: $12.2 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Div. yield: 3.9%; www.powercorporation.com) is a diversified holding company. It holds its financial assets through 65.8%-owned Power Financial.
These financial assets include 68.1% of Great- West Lifeco, one of Canada’s largest life insurers (see column on page 9), and 58.7% of IGM Financial, a leading Canadian mutual fund provider.
Power Financial also owns 50% of holding company Parjointco, which holds 55.6% of Switzerland- listed Pargesa Holdings SA. Pargesa has 95% of its assets in five large European companies: Imerys (minerals), Total SA (oil), Pernod Ricard (wine and spirits), Suez Environnement (energy, water and waste services) and Lafarge (cement and building materials). Power Corp. also has investments in Asia.
In the three months ended September 30, 2013, Power Corp.’s earnings rose 3.0%, to $206 million from $200 million a year earlier. Earnings per share gained 4.7%, to $0.45 from $0.43, on more shares outstanding.
The stock trades at 7.9 times this year’s forecast earnings per share of $2.77. It yields 3.9%.
Power Corp. is a buy.
