U.S. unit helps you to a 25% gain

Article Excerpt

INTACT FINANCIAL CORP., $138, is a buy. The stock (Toronto symbol IFC; High-Growth Dividend Payer Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares o/s: 139.2 million; Market cap: $19.2 billion; Dividend yield: 2.2%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Above Average; www.intactfc.com) gives you exposure to Canada’s largest provider of property and casualty insurance. In March 2019, Intact raised your quarterly dividend by 8.6%, to $0.76 a share from $0.70. The new annual rate of $3.04 yields a solid 2.2%. In another bid to add value for investors, Intact acquired Minnesota-based OneBeacon Insurance for $1.7 billion U.S. in September 2017. While the firm also focuses on property-casualty insurance, it lets Intact investors tap a range of higher-margin specialty insurance products. For the quarter ended September 30, 2019, Intact’s revenue rose 11.2%, to $3.01 billion from $2.71 billion a year earlier. Overall earnings per share in the quarter climbed 17.9%, to $1.91 from $1.62. Investors have gained 25% this year. Even so, your shares trade at a reasonable 17.0 times Intact’s 2020 earnings forecast for $8.12…