Stormy weather to impact Intact

Article Excerpt

INTACT FINANCIAL CORP. $96 (Toronto symbol IFC; High-Growth Dividend Payer Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 139.2 million; Market cap: $13.4 billion; Dividend yield: 2.9%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Above Average; www.intactfc.com) is Canada’s largest provider of property and casualty insurance. Its major brands are Intact Insurance, Canada BrokerLink and belairdirect. The company raised its quarterly dividend by 9.4% with the March 2018 payment, to $0.70 from $0.64. The new annual rate of $2.80 gives the shares a 2.9% yield. In the three months ended March 31, 2018, the insurer’s revenue rose 17.0%, to $2.5 billion from $2.2 billion a year earlier. However, Intact’s earnings fell 15.5%. to $131.0 million, or $0.94 a share, from $155.0 million, or $1.18. That’s due to higher weather-related claims. Intact now expects April storms in central Canada to cut its second quarter earnings by $0.75 a share. Intact Financial is still a buy. buy…