Power Corp. unlocks investor value

Article Excerpt

POWER CORP. $34 is still a buy. The holding company (Toronto symbol POW; Conservative-Growth Dividend Payer Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 377.4 million; Market cap: $12.8 billion; Dividend yield: 4.8%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Above Average; www.powercorporation.com) last raised its quarterly dividend by 6.0% with the June 2019 payment. Your new annual rate of $1.62 yields a high 4.8%. Power holds assets through its 65.6%-owned Power Financial (Toronto symbol PWF). Power Financial’s assets, in turn, include 67.6% of insurer Great-West Lifeco and 61.5% of mutual-fund provider IGM Financial. Power Corp will now swap its own shares for Power Financial shares. This cuts duplication and costs, plus makes Power Corp.’s structure easier to value. By unlocking its holding company discount, the company should significantly add to the 31% gain investors saw over the last year. year…