Manulife prospers in Asia

Article Excerpt

MANULIFE FINANCIAL CORP. $24.34 (Toronto symbol MFC; Shares outstanding: 2.0 billion; Market cap: $48.1 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 3.4%; www.manulife.ca) offers life and other related forms of insurance; it also sells mutual funds and investment management services. In the quarter ended December 31, 2016, the company earned $0.63 per share, excluding one-time items. That’s a gain of 50.0% over the $0.42 a year earlier. The rise was due to the company’s strong performance in Asia. Manulife continues to expand in growing Asian markets. Right now, about 40% of its earnings come from those markets. The stock trades at 11.2 times Manulife’s forecast 2017 earnings of $2.18 a share. The company raises its quarterly dividend by 11.1%, with the March 2017 payment. Investors will receive $0.205 a share for a yield of 3.4%. Manulife is a buy. buy…