Top assets are a big plus

Article Excerpt

POWER CORP. $30.79 (Toronto symbol POW; Shares outstanding: 414.4 million; Market cap: $14.6 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 4.4%; www.powercorporation.com) is a diversified holding company. It holds its financial assets through its 65.6%-owned Power Financial. In the quarter ended December 31, 2016, Power Corp.’s earnings per share rose 26.1%, to $0.87 from $0.69 a year earlier. Power Financial’s assets include: 67.6% of Great-West Lifeco, one of Canada’s largest life insurers; and 61.5% of IGM Financial, a leading Canadian mutual-fund provider. Through its 50% stake in Parjointco, Power Financial also holds 55.5% of Swiss-listed Pargesa Holdings SA. Pargesa has 95% of its assets in seven large European firms. Power Corp. now trades at a low 9.7 times its 2017 forecast earnings of $3.19 a share. The shares yield a high 4.4%. Power Corp. is a buy. buy…