Topic: How To Invest

Dear Pat: What are your thoughts on First National Financial Corp.? Thanks.

Article Excerpt

First National Financial Corp., $21.90, symbol FN on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 60.0 million; Market cap: $1.3 billion; www.firstnational.ca), is Canada’s largest non-bank mortgage originator and underwriter, with $79.9 billion of mortgages under administration. The company mainly offers mortgages for single-family homes and apartment buildings. It also conducts some commercial lending. To free up capital for further expansion, First National sells its mortgages to financial institutions, such as banks. It is also increasingly securitizing its mortgages, or packaging them together and selling them as mortgage bonds. However, in both cases, First National continues to manage the mortgages. Mortgage servicing provides stable and recurring income and lets First National renew the mortgages itself. This is much more profitable than initial mortgage originations, because mortgage brokers don’t generally collect fees on renewing existing mortgages. First National shares have moved down from around $24 since the end of July 2014, after the company reported its latest quarterly results. In the three months ended June 30, 2014, First National’s…