Updating your Conservative-Growth Payers: Manulife Financial Corp.

Article Excerpt

MANULIFE FINANCIAL CORP. $26 is a buy. The company (Toronto symbol MFC; Conservative-Growth Payer Portfolio; Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 1.8 billion; Market cap: $46.8 billion; Dividend yield: 5.6%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Above Average; www.manulife.ca) is Canada’s largest life insurer. It also sells other forms of insurance, including health, dental and travel plans; its mutual funds and investment management services further diversify its revenue stream. The company is also a leading insurer in Vietnam, Cambodia, Singapore, and the Philippines. Manulife last raised its quarterly dividend with the March 2023 payment. Investors now receive $0.365 a share, up 11.0% from $0.33. The annual dividend rate of $1.46 yields a high 5.6%. On September 30, 2023, the insurer had $1.32 trillion in assets under management and administration. Markets outside Canada—especially Asia (30% of earnings)—increasingly contribute to Manulife’s growth. In fact, thanks to a 33% jump in earnings from its Asian division, Manulife’s overall earnings in the third quarter of 2023 rose 35.3%, to $0.92 from $0.68. Earnings at the…