New businesses let them reward investors

Article Excerpt

Top insurers Manulife and Sun Life recently rewarded investors with sizeable dividend hikes. That’s partly due to the contributions of recent acquisitions. We feel these purchases will continue to pay off. Moreover, both stocks trade at attractive multiples to their projected earnings. MANULIFE FINANCIAL CORP. $27 is a buy. The company (Toronto symbol MFC; Conservative-Growth Payer Portfolio; Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 1.9 billion; Market cap: $51.3 billion; Dividend yield: 5.4%; 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 will raise its quarterly dividend with the March 2023 payment. Investors will then receive $0.365 a share, up 11.0% from $0.33. The new annual dividend rate of $1.46 yields a high 5.4%. It also intends to repurchase up to 3% of its outstanding shares over…