Updating Wells Fargo & Co., SNC-Lavalin Group Inc., and Intact Financial Corp.

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WELLS FARGO & CO. $50 (New York symbol WFC; Conservative Growth Payer Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares o/s: 4.6 billion; Dividend yield: 3.6%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Above Average; Market cap: $230.0 billion; Dividend yield: 3.4%; www.wellsfargo.com) will raise its quarterly dividend by 4.7% in March 2019, to $0.45 a share from $0.43. The new annual rate of $1.80 yields 3.6%. The bank has had to sell loans and other assets to stay under a cap imposed by the U.S. Federal Reserve. The Fed put the restriction in place because of the over 3.5 million unauthorized accounts the bank’s employees opened in an effort to meet sales targets. Wells Fargo expects the asset cap to remain in place for most of 2019. While that hurts its growth, its ongoing plan to cut non-interest expenses (salaries, rent costs, etc.) will lift its earnings. The stock also trades at an attractive 9.7 times the expected 2019 earnings of $5.13 a share. Wells Fargo is still a buy. SNC-LAVALIN GROUP INC. $48 (Toronto…