Investors can expect more dividend hikes

Article Excerpt

Sun Life recently acquired a U.S. firm that specializes in dental insurance. The company is also benefitting from rising interest rates, which is letting it earn higher returns on its bond portfolio. Those factors should continue to let it keep raising your dividend. SUN LIFE FINANCIAL INC. $68 is a buy. The stock (Toronto symbol SLF; Conservative-Growth Dividend Payer Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 586.7 million; Market cap: $39.9 billion; Dividend yield: 4.4%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Above Average; www.sunlife.ca) lets investors tap Canada’s third-largest life insurance company by market cap after Manulife (No. 1) and Great-West Lifeco (No. 2). Sun Life has $1.36 trillion in assets under management and administration. The insurer last raised its quarterly dividend with the June 2023 payment. Investors now receive $0.75 a share, up 4.2% from $0.72. The annual rate of $3.00 yields 4.4%. The company’s payout ratio in the latest quarter was 47%. That’s within its medium-term goal of 40% to 50%. In the four years between 2018 and 2021, revenues…