Focus on Asia will help buoy these dividends

Article Excerpt

MANULIFE FINANCIAL CORP. $24 (Toronto symbol MFC; Conservative-Growth Payer Portfolio; Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 2.0 billion; Market cap: $48.0 billion; Dividend yield: 3.7%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Above Average; www.manulife.ca) is Canada’s largest life insurance provider. It also offers other forms of insurance, including health, dental and travel plans, along with mutual funds and investment management services. With the March 2018 payment, Manulife raised its quarterly dividend by 7.3%. Investors now receive $0.22 a share, up from $0.205. The new annual rate of $0.88 yields 3.7%. In the first quarter of 2018, earnings jumped 18.4%, to $1.3 billion from $1.1 billion. Earnings per share gained 20.8%, to $0.64 from $0.53, due to more shares outstanding. Those gains are due to strong growth from both the company’s Asian business and its global wealth and asset management operations. Although its U.S. operations saw earnings decline by 2.0% in the quarter, that business still managed to contribute the highest total dollar amount. Manulife recently outlined its five-point plan for growth. That…