Intact lifts your dividend

Article Excerpt

INTACT FINANCIAL CORP. $164 is a buy. The company (Toronto symbol IFC; High-Growth Dividend Payer Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares o/s: 176.1 million; Market cap: $28.9 billion; Divd. yield: 2.2%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Above Average; www.intactfc.com) gives you exposure to Canada’s largest provider of property and casualty insurance. Canada’s banking regulator—the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OFSI)—has lifted the restrictions on capital distributions it placed on banks and insurers in March 2020 due to the uncertainty caused by COVID-19. As a result, Intact will raise your quarterly dividend by 9.6%. Starting with the December 2021 payment, investors will receive $0.91 a share instead of $0.83. The new annual rate of $3.64 yields 2.2%. With this increase, Intact has now raised the annual dividend rate each year for the past 16 years. Intact Financial is a buy. buy…