Their planning sets you up for dividend hikes

Article Excerpt

Canada’s banking regulator recently lifted the freeze on bank and insurer dividend hikes it imposed at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, Manulife and Sun Life have now rewarded investors with special dividends. We expect recent acquisitions and other moves will also let them raise your regular dividend payments in 2022. MANULIFE FINANCIAL CORP. $26 is a buy. The company (Toronto symbol MFC; Conservative-Growth Payer Portfolio; Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 1.9 billion; Market cap: $49.4 billion; Dividend yield: 4.3%; 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’s annual dividend rate of $1.32 yields a high 4.3%. The insurer also paid a special dividend of $0.05 a share in December 2021. Manulife recently announced that it would reinsure 75% of its legacy U.S. variable-annuity book through Venerable Holdings, a specialist at acquiring variable annuity blocks…