Two non-bank picks offer you solid income

Article Excerpt

In addition to the big Canadian and U.S. banks, we also like other firms in the Finance sector. Here we have Intact and T. Rowe Price, which continue to offer investors dependable dividends and strong growth prospects. INTACT FINANCIAL CORP. $174 is a buy. The company (Toronto symbol IFC; High-Growth Dividend Payer Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 176.1 million; Market cap: $30.6 billion; Dividend yield: 1.9%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Above Average; www.intactfc.com) gives you exposure to Canada’s largest provider of property and casualty insurance. The company last raised its quarterly dividend with the March 2020 payment. Investors now receive $0.83 a share. The annual rate of $3.32 yields 1.9%. The company completed its purchase of U.K. property and casualty insurer RSA Insurance on June 1, 2021. The acquisition was in partnership with Tryg A/S, one of the leading non-life insurers in Scandinavia. The partners paid $12.3 billion for RSA—$5.1 billion from Intact and $7.2 billion from Tryg. Intact took RSA’s Canadian business as…