Here’s our Pick of the Month

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INTACT FINANCIAL $88.92 (Toronto symbol IFC; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (416-341-1464; www.intactfc.com; Shares outstanding: 131.5 million; Market cap: $11.7 billion; Dividend yield: 2.4%) is Canada’s largest provider of property and casualty insurance. Its brands include Intact Insurance, Canada BrokerLink and belairdirect. In the three months ended September 30, 2015, Intact’s revenue rose 9.4%, to $2.09 billion from $1.91 billion a year earlier. Revenue improved across all of the company’s insurance lines and geographic regions. Canadian Direct Insurance, which Intact purchased for $197 million in early 2015, also added to its sales. Canadian Direct offers home, auto and travel insurance, mainly in Alberta and B.C. Growth by acquisition adds risk, but Canadian Direct is turning out to be a great fit. Intact has successfully integrated a number of other companies in the past few years, including AXA Canada, Jevco and Metro General. The company still has a lot of excess cash and will keep looking for more acquisitions. Earnings rose 7.6%, to…